Adapting to Rising Tides in Jamaica Bay, New York

Dr. Brett Branco, Associate Professor, Brooklyn College; and Director, Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay

Abstract: The interaction between rising sea levels and the legacy of urban development history in and around Jamaica Bay, New York, is degrading wildlife habitat and threatening the well-being of communities. The response to these challenges over the past 25 years include deeper engagement with people around the causes, frequency, severity and social impacts of flooding, ecological restoration and flood hazard mitigation planning and investment, and growing interest in nature-based shoreline features. Despite these responses, the future of Jamaica Bay’s intertwined social and ecological systems is uncertain.
Bio: Brett Branco is an Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at CUNY’s Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, and the Executive Director of the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay. His research interests range broadly from water quality in urban estuaries and lakes to coastal climate adaptation. Since arriving at Brooklyn College in 2009, he has successfully built partnerships between communities, researchers, city/state/federal agencies, non-profits and the private sector to develop deeper understanding of the issues facing coastal communities and ecosystems in New York City and the range of options to address them. These issues include coastal flooding and sea level rise, the impacts of urbanization and climate change on water quality, and the conservation and restoration of critical habitat such as the salt marshes of Jamaica Bay. Dr. Branco earned his PhD in Oceanography at the University of Connecticut where he developed new methods for studying the interactions between physical and biogeochemical process in shallow marine and fresh waters. Upon graduation he completed a two-year post-doc at the University of Western Australia before arriving at Brooklyn College. Dr. Branco has served as co-chair of the Water Quality Work Group for the NYNJ Harbor and Estuary Program and is a past President of the New England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS).