DV-09-013 Muscongus Bay Circulation Study

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

November 8, 2018

Jennifer Atkinson
Quebec-Labrador Foundation, Inc.
PO Box 335
Waldoboro, ME 04572
207.832.8109
jatkinson@qlf.org

Atkinson calls circulation “the geography of the ocean,” because it influences virtually every aspect of a marine area. Yet local circulation dynamics are not always understood, hampering our ability to manage local uses and monitor movements of marine organisms. Muscongus Bay is the focus of an intensive local effort to characterize a nearshore marine area. Many of the bay’s environmental features have been mapped, and project partners have GIS capacity to share circulation data. Sea Grant funds supported a pilot study of circulation in the bay using drifters and GPS tracking.

Project partners (including The Lobster Conservancy) deployed drifter units in central Muscongus Bay for one-half of a tidal cycle (~6 hours) on August 13, 2009. They were deployed from the F/V Pescadero, positioned near Gangway Ledge, east of Harbor Island, based on interest in larval lobster behavior in that part of the bay and the expectation that currents might diverge north of the Ledge. The drifters did not behave as predicted but rather moved westward in a tight grouping at an average speed of 0.32 m/s (1.1 km/hr), passing between Harbor and Black Islands before turning more northerly. The drifters did not begin to separate from each other until near the end of the flood tide. According to the Lobster Conservancy, this residual circulation in the bay could contribute to retention of larval lobsters within the bay, and dispersal of eggs and larvae out of the region.

1-year project
Total: $5,000