ORONO, Maine — Last month, 10 researchers from the University of Maine attended the Physics of Estuaries and Coastal Seas conference and have returned with knowledge, ideas, and connections they hope will improve their research and the state.
Lauren Ross, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UMaine, co-hosted the event. She said she hopes to see Maine and the university be widely known within the coastal research community.
"I would say that it's very unique," she said of the state. "I mean, Maine has this really interesting, very complex coastline."
Ross said the coastline and the extreme tides make Maine an ideal place for aquaculture, which is a growing industry in the state. She said she learned about the industry from Chilean researchers at the conference.
"My conversations with them have been very like, 'You are where we were 40 years ago,'" she said. "These are the things that we would have done differently if we would have known."
One potent threat to aquaculture are hazardous algae blooms. Elias Pinilla, a PhD student and researcher at UMaine, studies how the rate of water flowing from rivers into the ocean behaves.
One particular time of concern is during draughts.
"If you have a decrease in the freshwater, you have a change in the circulation," Pinilla said.
Less water flowing creates less turbulent water and a more nutrient rich environment. Such environments are ideal for hazardous algae blooms.
Preparing for threats, such as algae blooms, is part of the greater equation Ross said is important in ensuring that aquaculture remains stable and prosperous.
"How much can a system take before it collapses?" she said. "It's putting a number to that and being able to use that number as like a decision support tool for policy makers or decision makers."