THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2006

Topic: Oceanography at Maine Maritime; Particles, Currents and Hydrography in the Penobscot Estuary

Marine science faculty and students at Maine Maritime use the Penobscot estuary as their laboratory. In the context of courses, student research projects and faculty projects a diverse data set has been built. Our understanding of the estuary is increasing as we collect and merge these (sometimes) complementary data.

In this seminar the results of some recent and ongoing work will be presented. Several projects on suspended particles give us information on the importance of storms and tides in the reworking of particles in the river estuary and bay. These same studies determined particle composition giving us a look at the difference between the winter and summer cases. Other work raises the possibility of an estuarine turbidity maximum in the river estuary. Ongoing work includes examining the hydrography of the river plume in Penobscot Bay and the measurement of currents in the northern bay.

Speaker: Lauren Sahl, Corning School of Ocean Studies, Maine Maritime Academy

EDUCATION:

• Ph.D. 1984. Oceanography . Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
• B.S. 1978. Geology. State University of New York, College at New Paltz, New York.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• Fall 1990- present
  Assistant Professor to Professor, Corning School of Ocean Studies, Maine Maritime Academy, Castine, Maine.
• 1988-1990
  Assistant Professor of Coastal Oceanography, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Stockton State College, Pomona, New Jersey.
• Spring Semester 1988
  Visiting Lecturer, Department of Geological Sciences, The State
  University of New Jersey, Rutgers, New Brunswick, New Jersey
• 1986-1987
  Research Fellow in Coastal Engineering, Australian Nuclear Sciences and Technology Organization, Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia.
• 1986-1987
  Honorary Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematics, University of New South Wales, Australia.
• 1984-1986
  Research Fellow in Sediment Dynamics, Geology Department, Melbourne University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia..

PUBLICATIONS:

• Peters, C. and L.E. Sahl (in preparation) Vertical particle flux from the river plume and near the seafloor in the Penobscot River and Bay, Maine.
• Sahl, L.E., T.H. Dennison, and J. Boucher (in preparation) A study of suspended particles in Penobscot Bay; composition and settling flux.
• Sahl, L.E., D.A. Wiesenburg and W.J. Merrell, 1997, “Interaction of mesoscale features with Texas shelf and slope waters”, Continental Shelf Research, 17, no. 2:117-136.
• Sahl, L.E., W.J. Merrell, and D.C. Biggs, 1992, "The influence of advection on the spatial variability in nutrient concentrations on the Texas-Louisiana continental shelf", Continental Shelf Research, 13, no. 2/3: 233-251.
• Grimshaw, R., D. Broutman and L.E. Sahl, 1987, "A nondivergent barotropic model for wind-driven circulation in a closed region", Journal of Physical Oceanography, 17, no. 8:1114-1127.
• Sahl, L.E. and M.A.H. Marsden, 1987, "Shelf sediment dispersal during the dry season, Princess Charlotte Bay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia", Continental Shelf Research, 7, no. 10:1139-1159.
• Sahl, L.E. and W.J. Merrell, 1987, "Salinity, temperature and mixing on the Texas continental shelf". Contributions in Marine Science, 30: 1-16.
• Sahl, L.E., W.J. Merrell, D.W. McGrail and J.A. Webb, 1987, "Transport of mud on continental shelves; Evidence from the Texas shelf", Marine Geology, 76, no. 1/2:33-43.