For over a year Dianne Greenfield, a professor at Queens College and the Environmental Science Initiative at the Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and Maria Tzortziou a professor at City College and the Earth and Environmental Sciences Program at The Graduate Center, have been researching how the COVID-19 pandemic’s forced shutdown has affected water quality in the Long Island Sound, an estuary bordered by New York and Connecticut.

Long Island Sound is the most urbanized estuary of North America, home to more than four million persons who live in the coastal communities along its shorelines. It is considered one of the most important and valuable estuaries in America in terms of its ecological value and rich biodiversity, according to Professor Tzortziou. More than three decades ago, Congress designated Long Island Sound an estuary of national significance.

The Sound is a rich ecosystem that contains thousands of invertebrates, fish, and migratory bird species. The waterway also supports a variety of industries, including fishing, transportation, and outdoor activities that stress and impact the Sound’s ecosystem in various ways. During this Earth Day podcast we talk with Greenfield and Tzortziou about their research to sort out how cessation of these activities has impacted this critical estuary and the life it supports.