Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Remote Sensing Of Beachrock And Other Geomorphological Indicators Of Sea-Level Rise On Lesvos, Greece, Frankie St. Amand

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

While research has shown the possibility of seafloor mapping at depths of up to 30m, a number of factors restrict exploration of bathymetry such as pixel size, sun azimuth, season, water turbidity and suspended sediments, as well as seafloor topography13. Though the 30m composite images of Lesvos were able to penetrate shallow water to expose submerged features, pixel size prevented mapping of beachrock outcrops because they couldn’t be differentiated from other sediments or underwater features. Higher resolution aerial images enabled accurate beachrock mapping. These images were obtained by a helicopter but increasingly, remote drones are a cost effective way of …

An Investigation To Remotely Sense Mineral Leeching Through Soils, Paul C. Shaffer

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Satellite data on Earth's surface provide a wealth of information on landscape conditions. I use Landsat data to determine an important geologic process that influences the composition of the soils. My project focusses on the experimental hypothesis that we can use plant vigor as a proxy to document mineral washing downslopes through soils. I constructed a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composite image from Landsat data to help assess vegetation heath in my target location - a national park south of Mount St. Helens. This location was selected because of its steep inclines, dense undisturbed vegetation, and fertile soils. It …

Habitat Fragmenta-On In The Sebago Lake Watershed, Jared Lank

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The goal of this research was to evaluate the extent of land use change occurring in the Sebago lake watershed of southern Maine. The primary data set used was Landsat 7 Near Infrared satellite imagery of the region which was analyzed with ESRI’s ArcGIS soQware. Data was clipped to the Portland Water District’s sub watershed shape file and analyzed with the soQware’s image analysis ‘difference’ tool which calculates the differences in pixel values between to raster datasets. The 2013 Landsat reclassifica-on was compared to 1987, 1995 and 2009 reclassifica-ons. NOAA’s Habitat Priority Planner plugin tool was also u-lized in order …

Issue Brief: Asset Management For Stormwater, New England Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Communities Learning Network

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Asset management is a strategic approach to maintaining and sustaining infrastructure in order to meet the needs of the community at the lowest overall life cycle cost. This approach helps communities know how and where to prioritize limited funds in order to achieve the greatest benefit. Often applied to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, this method is well suited to managing any assets, including stormwater systems.

This issue brief is intended to introduce local governments to the asset management process and to show how it can be applied in managing stormwater assets. It was adapted from an appendix written by …

High Peaks Back - Country Trails Plan, Benjamin Godsoe

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

The High Peaks Trails Plan is a regional vision for back-country trails in Maine's High Peaks region. The plan identifies challenges and opportunities which face the trails community, and outlines several strategies for trails groups to move forward together to overcome mutual challenges.

Drinking Water Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

This document is intended to help local and regional planning agencies, and their constituent water utilities, integrate drinking water infrastructure planning and investments into plans for sustainable development. Resources listed here provide guidance on making land use decisions that protect water resources, setting adequate and sustainable drinking water rates, controlling water loss, funding water infrastructure projects, and managing water utilities.

The directory was developed by the Environmental Finance Center Network through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency. Through this program, EFCN is providing capacity …

Sustainable Water Management On Brownfields Sites, Ryan Fenwick, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

This practice guide was developed by the Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN) through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Through a cooperative agreement with HUD, EFCN is providing capacity building and technical assistance to recipients of grants from the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an interagency collaboration that aims to help towns, cities, and regions develop in more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable ways.

A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings (Presentation), New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service

Water

This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by …

A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings Presentation, New England Environmental Finance Center

Economics and Finance

This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by …

Sustainable Portland: Implementation Series 3, New England Environmental Finance Center

Climate Change

This report is the third in a series of efforts by students at the Muskie School of Public Service, Community Planning and Development Master’s program, in a core class called “Sustainable Communities.” In this course students seek to understand principles of sustainability and how efforts to implement Sustainability programs can become more successful. The report assembles term papers students completed on particular efforts by municipalities, universities, and other groups to achieve sustainability goals. Students worked on each project in a service learning format with real world clients. They were asked to fashion their papers around lessons learned by other organizations …

Sustainable Portland: Implementation Series 2, New England Environmental Finance Center

Climate Change

The Portland Municipal Climate Change Working Group prepared a report in March 2008 that outlined several recommendations as a commitment by the City to address greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) produced during daily municipal operations. The Municipal Climate Action Plan was written in partnership with Clean Air – Cool Planet and Portland officials, and acknowledges under Recommendation #2 that an employee energy efficiency program would provide significant positive impact on the City’s reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Best practices from three cities show that focus on the greening of City Hall is critical in developing a program that promotes partnerships, community …

Preserving Assets In At-Risk Municipalities: Financial Strategies For Climate Change Adaptation, New England Environmental Finance Center

Climate Change

A large share of America's population, businesses and economic activity now occurs in coastal areas. At the same time, during this century many coastal communities are likely to be severely impacted by sea level rise and increased storm surge and tidal flooding.

“What to do” about this vulnerability is the subject of this brief. It is intended to help municipalities identify courses of action and steps they might take toward increasing their resilience, especially regarding financial resources that will need to be allocated toward the various strategies identified.

Sustainable Portland: Implementation Series 1, New England Environmental Finance Center

Climate Change

When the Sustainable Portland Task Force Report was released in November 2007, under the leadership of Mayor Jim Cohen, Portland Councilor Kevin Donoghue had the idea that students at the Muskie School of Public Service might be able to help implement recommendations from the report. It may have helped that Kevin was himself a graduate of the Community Planning and Development Master’s program at the Muskie School, but it was a good idea nevertheless. He approached Professor Sam Merrill in the CPD program, who spoke with the new Mayor Ed Suslovic about a possible partnership between the City and the …

Promoting Low Impact Development In Your Community, New England Environmental Finance Center

Planning

Low Impact Development (LID) is an approach to stormwater management and site development that is gaining popularity throughout the country. Its attractiveness lies in its potential to lessen off-site stormwater impacts, reduce costs to municipalities and developers, and promote development that is “softer on the land” compared with typical traditional development. The approach, which is applicable to residential, commercial and industrial projects, and in urban, suburban and rural settings, often is linked with efforts by governments and citizens to foster more sustainable communities.

Analysis Of Per Capita Expenditures Of Suburbanizing Communities In Maine, New England Environmental Finance Center

Economics and Finance

This study analyzes per capita expenditure trends among selected fast-growing Maine towns from 1970-2004. The ten communities studied are termed as “suburbanizing” towns. This term is used to describe towns that over the past 30-40 years have been in the process of transition from rural to suburban – in terms of their population and housing densities, their forms of government, and the services they provide, as well as other characteristics.1 Such towns are of particular interest because they have been absorbing a healthy percentage of the state’s population growth during this time period, often at the expense of Maine’s service …

Smart Growth And Land Acquisition Priorities, New England Environmental Finance Center

Land Conservation

It is well-known and generally accepted that all undeveloped land in New England cannot forever be protected from development; nor would this be a desirable goal, as continued economic development and population growth are near certainties. For these and other reasons, private land trusts and government agencies generally use explicit criteria to prioritize their land acquisition activities and prospects.

Much land protection in New England and elsewhere, however, has occurred without substantial attention to such land use needs as fostering the best locations for where people will live, businesses will locate, and infrastructure will be built to avoid degrading resources. …

Fish Tissue Contamination In Maine Lakes : Data Report, Jeanne Difranco, Linda Bacon, Barry Mower, David Courtemanch

Maine Collection

Fish Tissue Contamination in Maine Lakes : Data Report

by Jeanne DiFranco, Linda Bacon, Barry Mower and David Courtemanch

Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (REMAP)

State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Land and Water Quality, Division of Environmental Assessment, State House Station 17, Augusta, Maine 04333 (September 1995).

Contents: List of Figures and Tables / I. Introduction / II. Goals and Objectives / III. Experimental Design / IV. Methods / V. Data / VI. Quality Assurance-Quality Control / Appendices A-H

Eolian Sand Deposits In Maine, Joshua Katz

Maine Collection

Eolian Sand Deposits in Maine

by Joshua Katz - Timson, Schepps & Peters, Inc., Hallowell, Maine

Planning Report No.91, August 1990.

"A report prepared for the Maine Critical Areas Program, State Planning Office."

Contents: List of Figures / List of Maps and Tables / Acknowledgements / Introduction / Inland Eolian Sand Deposits / Research Methods / Rating Methods / Significant Criteria / Summary of Results / Significant Eolian Deposits in Maine / Site Descriptions / Recommendations / Glossary / References Cited

Mining In Maine : Past, Present, And Future, Carolyn A. Lepage

Maine Collection

Mining in Maine : Past, Present, and Future

by Carolyn A. Lepage, Michael E. Foley, and Woodrow B. Thompson

Maine Geological Survey, Department of Conservation, Augusta, Me., 1990.

Contents: Introduction / The Early Years: Pre-Civil War / The Civil War to World War II / The War Years of the 1940's / The Postwar Years: 1940's to 1960 / The 1960's / The 1970's / Maine Mineral Resources Association / The 1980's / Current Mining and Exploration / Future Potential / Acknowledgments / References

Geochemistry Of Selected Maine Peat Deposits, Stephen A. Norton

Maine Collection

Geochemistry of Selected Maine Peat Deposits

by Steven Allen Norton

Maine Geological Survey, Department of Conservation, Augusta, Maine, 1990.

Contents: Introduction / Purpose of Study / Location of Study Sites / Methods / Acknowledgements / Results / Water Chemistry / Dating of Short Cores / Chemistry of Short Cores / Core Interpretations / Summary / References Cited

Significant Bedrock Features Of The Maine Coast : Boothbay To Calais, Carol White, A. M. Hussey Ii

Maine Collection

Significant Bedrock Features of the Maine Coast : Boothbay to Calais

Carol White and A.M.Hussey II

Planning Report # 85

A Report Prepared for the Maine Critical Areas Program, Maine State Planning Office, 184 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04333 (September 1989).

Contents: Introduction / Types of Significant Features / Description and Interpretation of Geologic Features / Overview of the Geology of Coastal Maine / Criteria for Significant Geological Localities / Inventory Methods / Area Descriptions / Site Descriptions / Conclusions and Recommendations / References

Maine Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment Report, Bureau Of Water Quality Control

Maine Collection

Maine Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment Report

Prepared by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Quality Control, Augusta, Maine 1989.

Contents: Executive Summary / Introduction / Methodology / Statewide Water Quality Summary / State And Local Agency Programs for Control of Nonpoint Source Pollution / Process for Identification of Best Management Practices and Associated Standards / List of References / List of Figures / List of Tables

A Field Perspective On Groundwater Contamination, John A. Cherry

Maine Collection

A Field Perspective on Groundwater Contamination

Geological Society of Maine Distinguished Lecturer John Cherry, University of Waterloo, Ontario, sponsored by the Department of Geosciences, University of Southern Maine, 19th May 1988.

Contents: Lecture 1 : Contaminant Migration Processes Illustrated by Field Experiments / Lecture 2 : Behavior of Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids, Illustrated by Lab Experiments and Conceptual Examples / Lecture 3 : Field Case Histories on Groundwater Contamination / Lecture 4 : Hydrogeological Concepts and Criteria for Waste Disposal / Waterloo Center for Groundwater Research Publications List

Contributions To The Quaternary Geology Of Northern Maine And Adjacent Canada, J. Steven Kite (Ed.), Thomas V. Lowell (Ed.), Woodrow B. Thompson (Ed.)

Maine Collection

Contributions to the Quaternary Geology of Northern Maine and Adjacent Canada

Bulletin 37 - Maine Geological Survey, Department of Conservation,

Augusta, Maine 04333 (1988).

Contents: Introduction / A GEOMORPHIC METHOD FOR RECONSTRUCTING PALEO ICE SHEETS, Part I: GLACIAL GEOLOGY. - T. Hughes and J. Fastook / A GEOMORPHIC METHOD FOR RECONSTRUCTING PALEO ICE SHEETS, Part II: GLACIOLOGY. - J. Fastook and T. Hughes / TILL STRATIGRAPHY AT THE BALD MOUNTAIN MINE SITE, NORTHERN MAINE - W. R. Holland and F. F. Bragdon / GLACIAL DISPERSAL FROM THE PRIESTLY LAKE AND DEBOULLIE PLUTONS, NORTHERN MAINE - E. F. Halter / GLACIATION …

Peat Resources Of Maine - Volume 4: Southern And Western Maine, Cornelia C. Cameron, Michael K. Mullen, Carolyn A. Lepage

Maine Collection

Peat Resources of Maine - Volume 4: Southern and Western Maine

by Cornelia C. Cameron, Michael K. Mullen, Carolyn A. Lepage & Walter A. Anderson

Bulletin 31 - Maine Geological Survey, Department of Conservation, Augusta, Maine (1984).

Preparation of this report was supported by funds furnished by the U.S. Department of Energy, Grant No. DE-FG18-79ET14690, the Maine Office of Energy Resources, the Maine Geological Survey, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Contents: Introduction / The Maine Peat Resource Evaluation Program / Geologic Setting of Maine Peat Deposits / Formation of Peat Deposits in Maine / Methods of Investigation / Identification of …

The Geology Of Maine's Coastline : A Handbook For Resource Planners, Developers, And Managers, Maine State Planning Office

Maine Collection

The Geology of Maine's Coastline : A Handbook for Resource Planners, Developers, and Managers

Executive Department, Maine State Planning Office, Augusta, Maine, June 1983.

Contents: List of Figures / Introduction: The Geological Connection / Chapter 1: Using the Marine Environments Maps / Chapter 2: Perspectives of the Maine Coast / Chapter 3: The Building Blocks of Maine's Coast / Chapter 4: The Disappearing Shoreline / Where to Go for Help / Some Planning Considerations for Development in Coastal Geologic Environments / Land Use Laws of Special Interest to Individual Coastal Property Owners

Important Geological Features And Localities Of Maine, Maine Geological Survey

Maine Collection

Important Geological Features and Localities of Maine

Executive Department, Maine Geological Survey : Maine State Planning Office

(December, 1982).

Contents: Introduction / Purpose of this Study / The Geology of Maine / Important Publications / Catalogue of the Critical Geologic Features of Maine / Recommendations for Further Research / Publications / Conclusions / Acknowledgements / References Cited / Critical Areas Program List of Geological Planning Reports

The Voluntary Water Quality Monitoring Program : 1982 Project Report, Barbara Welch, Judy Potvin, Mary Ellen Dennis

Maine Collection

The Voluntary Water Quality Monitoring Program : 1982 Project Report

by Barbara Welch, Judy Potvin & Mary Ellen Dennis

Division of Environmental Evaluation and Lake Studies, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Augusta, Maine 1982.

Contents: Understanding Maine's Lakes and Ponds / Acknowledgement / Temperature / Dissolved Oxygen / Other Measures of Lake Water Quality / Nutrients / Algae and Chlorophyll a / Transparency / Morphometry / Sampling / Protection / Classification / Answers to Most Frequently Asked Questions / Glossary of Terms / Appendix A : Maximum, Minimum, and Mean Values / Appendix B : Phosphate Content of Common Cleansers …

Maine's Whitewater Rapids And Their Relevance To The Critical Areas Program, Janet Mcmahon

Maine Collection

Maine's Whitewater Rapids and Their Relevance to the Critical Areas Program

by Janet McMahon

Planning Report No. 74, Critical Areas Program, 184 State St., Augusta, Maine,

April, 1981 (additions made in October, 1981). Reprinted July, 1983.

Contents: Introduction / Natural History of Whitewater Rapids / Methods / Criteria / Results / Conclusions / General Evaluation of Whitewater Rapids for Inclusion on the Register of Critical Areas / Bibliography / Action Plan

Tourmaline - A Prospecting Guide For Massive Base-Metal Sulfide Deposits In The Penobscot Bay Area, Maine, John F. Slack

Maine Collection

Tourmaline - A Prospecting Guide for Massive Base-Metal Sulfide Deposits in the Penobscot Bay Area, Maine

by John F. Slack, U.S. Geological Survey

Special Economic Studies Series No.8

Maine Geological Survey, Department of Conservation, Augusta, Maine (June, 1980).

Contents: Abstract / Introduction / Geologic Setting / Massive Sulfide Deposits / Tourmaline Occurrences / Tourmaline: A Guide to Ore / Acknowledgements / References Cited