BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 7, 2023
A University of Maine Ph.D. candidate has created a new mapping tool that can help scientists and resource managers better predict how vulnerable different coastal estuary settings in Maine are to pollution. Pollution vulnerability in estuaries and bays can be determined by the source of contamination, how it is transported to coastal waters and how long it can last before flushing out to sea based on the physical and hydrological characteristics of the watershed, also known as residence time. The “Estuary Builder” tool, developed by Bea Van Dam from UMaine’s School of Earth and Climate Sciences, provides related data for stream and river watersheds and embayments along the entire Maine coastline.