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Acronyms & DefinitionsAmphidromous - Refers to fishes that regularly migrate between freshwater and the sea (in both directions), but not for the purpose of breeding, as in anadromous and catadromous species. Anadromous - Fish, such as salmon and shad, that spawn in fresh water and then migrate to the sea. ATSDR - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry AWQC - Ambient water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life Benthic - Animals dwelling on the bottom of a water body. These organisms inhabit the sediment on lake, river, or ocean bottoms, as well as the sediment in marshes, tidal flats, and other wetlands. Bioassay - A laboratory test that uses organisms to evaluate whether a sample is toxic. Biological effects - Biological effects are measurements indicating that the health of animals living in the area (or evaluated in laboratory tests) has been adversely affected. Biomagnify - The accumulation of certain chemicals (such as mercury and PCBs) biomagnifies (increases) as they pass through the food chain. This means that a low amount of mercury might be present in fish that eat plants, but higher amounts will accumulate in fish or birds that eat fish. Adverse effects are more likely to occur in birds or fish that eat other animals. Catadromous - Fish, such as the American eel, that spawn in sea water and then migrate to fresh water. CERCLA - CERCLA, or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 created the Superfund and the National Priorities List (NPL). CERCLIS - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System Cleanup - See remediation. COC - Contaminant of concern ARD - Assessment and Restoration Division, a program of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) CRC - Coastal Resource Coordinator CWA - Clean Water Act dbf - Database file Diadromous - Regularly migrating between freshwater and seawater. This includes anadromous, catadromous and amphidromous fishes. DDD - dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane DDE - dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene DDT - dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane DNREC - Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control DOI - U.S. Department of the Interior DRBC - Delaware River Basin Commission DRKN - Delaware Riverkeepers Network Eelgrass bed - Aquatic habitat found at 10-30 percent salinity below the lowest tide level, characterized by eelgrass and associated plants such as sea lettuce and algae. Provides habitat for bay scallops, bivalves, shrimp and other marine invertebrates, as well as nursery and adult habitat for fin fish. EPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency ERL - Below the level of Effects Range Low (ERL), contaminants in sediment are not likely to have adverse effects on animals that live in sediment. ERM - Above the level of Effects Range Median (ERM), contaminants in sediment probably have adverse effects on animals that live in sediment. ESA - Endangered Species Act ESRI - Environmental Systems Research Institute Estuarine - Present, living or thriving in an estuary. Estuary - Part of a river or stream or other body of water that has an unimpaired connection with the open sea (based on natural convergence patterns versus manmade structures and obstructions), and where the sea water is measurably diluted with fresh water from land drainage. As defined by the Estuary Habitat Restoration Strategy, estuaries are considered to extend from the head of tide to downstream terminus features such as barrier islands, reefs, sand bars, mud flats, or headlands in close proximity to the connection with the open sea. Under the Estuary Restoration Act , riparian and nearshore areas adjacent to the drowned mouths of streams entering the Lakes are also considered estuaries. Freshwater marsh - Low-salinity (less than .5 ppt) wetlands characterized by erect, rooted, herbaceous plants which extend above the water's surface, and are present for most of the growing season in most years. Water levels can range tidally or seasonally from at the soil surface to a shallow depth. Cowardin classification: Palustrine Emergent (PEM). FUDS - Formerly Used Defense Site GIS - Geographic Information System. GIS is used to join electronic files (databases) containing environmental measurements taken at a specific location, to maps showing geographic features. This approach allows scientists to show large amounts of data from specific locations on a map showing landscape features such as wetlands and land use. GPS - Global Positioning System. GPS is a satellite navigation system, funded by and controlled by the U. S. Department of Defense (DOD). GPS provides specially coded satellite signals that can be processed in a GPS receiver, enabling the receiver to compute position, velocity and time. This very specific information allows the user to determine location with a high degree of precision. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) rely heavily on the precision afforded by GPS methods. Habitat - The place where a plant or animal species naturally lives and grows; or characteristics of the soil, water, and biologic community (other plants and animals) that make this possible. Hard bottom - Shallow and deep-water habitats with substrates consisting of bedrock, rocks, boulders, gravel, or pebbles. The solid floor typically provides an attachment surface for sessile organisms as well as a rough three-dimensional surface that encourages water mixing and nutrient cycling. Cowardin classification: Rock Bottom (E1RB). Hectare - One hectare is equal to 10,000 square meters, or 2.471 acres. Injury - Harm or adverse effects to aquatic organisms and the habitats they require to complete their life cycle. kg - kilogram km - kilometer L - liter LID - Low Impact Development LNAPL - light, non-aqueous phase liquid LOEL - lowest observed effects level m - meter MARPLOT - Mapping Application for Response, Planning, and Local Operational Tasks MBL - Marine Biology Laboratory MDE - Maryland Department of the Environment MDNR - Maryland Department of Natural Resources MOA - Memorandum of Agreement MOU - Memorandum of Understanding NAD - North American Datum NAPL - Non-aqueous phase liquid NAWQA - National Water-Quality Assessment Program of the U.S. Geological Survey NEPA - National Environmental Policy Act NERR - National Estuarine Research Reserve NGO - Non-Governmental Organization NJDEP - New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection NMFS – National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) NOAA – National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration NOS – National Ocean Service NPDES - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NPL - The National Priorities List identifies locations throughout the U.S. where hazardous wastes have been found in the environment and the initial evaluation shows a significant risk of harm to human health or the environment. NPL sites are frequently called "Superfund" sites, because Superfund money can be used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate and clean up these sites. NRCS - Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture NS&T - National Status and Trends NWIS - National Water Information System ORR - Office of Response and Restoration OU - Operable unit Oyster reef/shell bottom - An estuarine community dominated by clusters of oysters or other shellfish. Oyster reefs form when densely packed individual oysters grow upward and outward creating a complex hard surface. Cowardin classification: Reef, Mollusc (E1RF2 for subtidal, E2RF2 for intertidal). PAH - Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon PA/SI - Preliminary Assessment/Site Investigation PCB - Polychlorinated biphenyl PCE - Perchloroethylene (also known as tetrachloroethylene) PCP - Pentachlorophenol PDEP - Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ppt - Parts per thousand PRP - Potentially Responsible Party QA/QC - Quality Assessment/Quality Control QM - Query Manager RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act RD/RA - Remedial Design/Remedial Action Remediation - Also known as clean up, remediation is taking action to reduce, isolate, or remove contamination from an environment with the goal of preventing exposure to people or animals. Examples include dredging to remove contaminated sediment, or capping to prevent contaminated sediment from contacting benthic organisms. Restoration - Improving or replacing habitat that is injured. Usually follows remediation. RI/FS - Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Riparian - Beside or along the bank of a river. Riparian zone (non-wetland) - A woodland community located along a river or stream, including the bank. It is dominated by trees and differs from a wetland in that the water table does not normally reach the soil surface. Floods may occur occasionally, but the habitat remains unsaturated for most of the year. ROD - Record of Decision Salt marsh (including brackish marsh) - Saline (.5 to 35 ppt) wetlands characterized by erect, rooted, herbaceous plants which extend above the water’s surface, and are present for most of the growing season in most years. Water levels can range tidally or seasonally from at the soil surface to a shallow depth. Cowardin classification: Estuarine Emergent (E2EM). Shellfish beds - Shellfish in the Delaware River Estuary and Bay have different habitat requirements. Ribbed mussels are found clustered in cordgrass in saltmarshes, from mid-Bay to the lower Bay. Two non-native species, the brackish water bivalve and the freshwater Asian clam, are found in soft mud and sand of the Delaware River Estuary between Trenton and the C and C Canal. Blue mussels are found on hard surfaces in the Delaware Bay. Several species are found in the soft mud and sand of the Delaware Bay and Estuary, including softshell clam, northern quahog, northern dwarf-tellin, and the Atlantic jackknife. Soft bottom/mud - Intertidal mudflats or subtidal substrate containing organic material and particles smaller in size than sand. These areas of loose, unconsolidated substrate generally lack rooted vegetation, but may provide appropriate habitat for shellfish beds. Cowardin classification: Unconsolidated Shore, Mud and Unconsolidated Bottom, Mud (E2US3 for intertidal/shore, E1UB3 for subtidal/bottom). Soft bottom/sand - Intertidal sandflats or sandy subtidal areas; composed of loose, unconsolidated substrate characterized by fine to coarse-grained sediment, and normally lacking rooted vegetation. Cowardin classification: Unconsolidated Shore, Sand and Unconsolidated Bottom, Sand (E2US2 for intertidal/shore, E1UB2 for subtidal/bottom). Submerged aquatic vegetation - Vascular plants that grow below the surface of the water on soft sediments in sheltered shallow waters of estuaries, bays, lagoons, and lakes.; these plants are usually completely inundated throughout the growing season. Some SAV habitats may contain a mix of open water and rooted, floating-leaved, and short-emergent vegetation. Cowardin classification: Aquatic Bed, Vascular (E2AB3 and E2AB5 for intertidal; E1AB3 and E1AB5 for subtidal). Superfund - The Superfund is money collected from a special tax on chemical feedstocks and raw petroleum. When a responsible party can not pay, Superfund money can be used by EPA to investigate, evaluate, and cleanup the hazardous waste sites identified on the NPL. Superfund is also used to refer to USEPA's program for investigation and cleanup of hazardous waste sites. SVOC - Semi-volatile organic compound TCA - 1,1,1-trichloroethane TCE - Trichloroethylene TEL/PEL - Threshold and Probable Effects Levels TMDL - Total Maximum Daily Load TNT - 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene TPH - Total petroleum hydrocarbons Tributary - A stream feeding into a larger stream, lake, or other water body. TSS - Total suspended solids USACOE - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers USCG - U.S. Coast Guard USEPA - U. S. Environmental Protection Agency USFWS - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service USGS – U.S. Geological Survey VOC - Volatile organic compound Water column - The volume of water extending from the surface down to, but not including, the substrate. Watershed - All the land and tributaries draining to a body of water. Wetland - Land where saturation with water is the dominant factor, affecting the soil and the communities of plants and animals living there. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, fens, and bogs. The use of wetlands is regulated by the Clean Water Act. |
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