EP21C-0927
Downeast Drainage – Examining and Communicating the Dynamics of Bacteria Pollution Events in the Gulf of Maine
Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Sean MC Smith1,2, Damian C. Brady3, Kelly L Cole4, Stephen Jones5, Bridie McGreavy1,6, Chris Petersen7, Derek Rothenheber5, Brianna Audrey Smith1,2 and Brett Gerard2, (1)Sen. George J. Mitchell Center, Orono, ME, United States, (2)University of Maine, School of Earth and Climate Sciences, Orono, ME, United States, (3)University of Maine, School of Marine Sciences, Walpole, ME, United States, (4)Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States, (5)University of New Hampshire, Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Durham, NH, United States, (6)University of Maine, Communications and Journalism, Orono, ME, United States, (7)College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME, United States
Abstract:
The New England Sustainability Consortium is an interdisciplinary NSF EPSCoR funded project organized to strengthen the connections between science and decision-making and to advance the practice of sustainability science. The project uses complementary research capacity at several institutions to examine watershed and estuarine processes linked to bacteria pollution affecting shellfish harvesting and beach water quality in the Gulf of Maine. A fundamental research target is the development of a better approach for the prediction of coastal bacteria pollution events that can cause losses in tourism and shellfishery revenue. Enhanced prediction and communication of the events require a simultaneous examination of watershed pollution sources, drainage systems, estuarine residence times and bacterial survival. Our presentation will summarize initial observations from our investigations and stakeholder engagement activities at two project reference sites located in Wells and Bar Harbor, Maine. These will include field measurements, watershed and estuarine modeling outcomes, and stakeholder engagement results that are framed to quantify and explain land-sea interactions linked to bacterial pollution events in locations with varied relief, hydrodynamics, and stakeholder communities.
