University of Connecticut doctoral candidates Madeleine Meadows-McDonnell, from the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Department, left, and Franco Gigliotti, from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, collect samples in the Bride Brook salt marsh at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme Wednesday, September 21, 2022. UConn students along with Connecticut Sea Grant and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are researching restoration efforts of salt marshes across the state. By sampling the water and soil before and after the soil restoration project they are researching how the ecosystem’s soil carbon levels and water chemistry levels may change. The state and federal governments are spending a combined $582,000 to restore the marsh at Rocky Neck through a thin layer placement dredging project in which they will place the dredged soil back on the marsh surface to combat rising water levels. Work is expected to begin this winter and the UConn team will continue sampling after the restoration. (Sarah Gordon / The Day)

University of Connecticut doctoral candidates Madeleine Meadows-McDonnell, from the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Department, left, and Franco Gigliotti, from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, look to move to their next marker as they collect water and soil samples in the Bride Brook salt marsh at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme Wednesday, September 21, 2022. UConn students along with Connecticut Sea Grant and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are researching restoration efforts of salt marshes across the state. By sampling the water and soil before and after the soil restoration project they are researching how the ecosystem’s soil carbon levels and water chemistry levels may change. The state and federal governments are spending a combined $582,000 to restore the marsh at Rocky Neck through a thin layer placement dredging project in which they will place the dredged soil back on the marsh surface to combat rising water levels. Work is expected to begin this winter and the UConn team will continue sampling after the restoration. (Sarah Gordon / The Day)

University of Connecticut doctoral candidates Madeleine Meadows-McDonnell, from the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Department, left, and Franco Gigliotti, from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, collect water and soil samples in the Bride Brook salt marsh at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme Wednesday, September 21, 2022. UConn students along with Connecticut Sea Grant and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are researching restoration efforts of salt marshes across the state. By sampling the water and soil before and after the soil restoration project they are researching how the ecosystem’s soil carbon levels and water chemistry levels may change. The state and federal governments are spending a combined $582,000 to restore the marsh at Rocky Neck through a thin layer placement dredging project in which they will place the dredged soil back on the marsh surface to combat rising water levels. Work is expected to begin this winter and the UConn team will continue sampling after the restoration. (Sarah Gordon / The Day)

University of Connecticut doctoral candidate Franco Gigliotti, from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, walks along the Bride Brook salt marsh at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme Wednesday, September 21, 2022. UConn students along with Connecticut Sea Grant and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are researching restoration efforts of salt marshes across the state. By sampling the water and soil before and after the soil restoration project they are researching how the ecosystem’s soil carbon levels and water chemistry levels may change. The state and federal governments are spending a combined $582,000 to restore the marsh at Rocky Neck through a thin layer placement dredging project in which they will place the dredged soil back on the marsh surface to combat rising water levels. Work is expected to begin this winter and the UConn team will continue sampling after the restoration. (Sarah Gordon / The Day)

University of Connecticut doctoral candidate Madeleine Meadows-McDonnell, from the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Department, collects a water sample in the Bride Brook salt marsh at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme Wednesday, September 21, 2022. UConn students along with Connecticut Sea Grant and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are researching restoration efforts of salt marshes across the state. By sampling the water and soil before and after the soil restoration project they are researching how the ecosystem’s soil carbon levels and water chemistry levels may change. The state and federal governments are spending a combined $582,000 to restore the marsh at Rocky Neck through a thin layer placement dredging project in which they will place the dredged soil back on the marsh surface to combat rising water levels. Work is expected to begin this winter and the UConn team will continue sampling after the restoration. (Sarah Gordon / The Day)

University of Connecticut Senior Research Technician Nicolette Nelson and doctoral candidate Madeleine Meadows-McDonnell, from the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Department, gather water and soil samples in the Bride Brook salt marsh at Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme Wednesday, September 21, 2022. UConn students along with Connecticut Sea Grant and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are researching restoration efforts of salt marshes across the state. By sampling the water and soil before and after the soil restoration project they are researching how the ecosystem’s soil carbon levels and water chemistry levels may change. The state and federal governments are spending a combined $582,000 to restore the marsh at Rocky Neck through a thin layer placement dredging project in which they will place the dredged soil back on the marsh surface to combat rising water levels. Work is expected to begin this winter and the UConn team will continue sampling after the restoration. (Sarah Gordon / The Day)