Sean Smith

Sen. George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability SolutionsÌý´¥ÌýMAFESÌý´¥Ìý

Research Focus and History ´¥ÌýCoursesÌý´¥ÌýGraduate Advising

I co-lead the Watershed Process and Estuary Sustainability Research Group (WPES) in the School of Earth and Climate Sciences. WPES is involved in multiple research projects, including several multi-institutional projects administered by the Sen. George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. More background information related to my solutions-driven research work related to watersheds and communities can be found on my University of º£½ÇÉçÇø .

IN THE NEWS….

New funding has been granted for research focused on relations between commercial forest harvest operations and cold water streams in the woodlands of northern º£½ÇÉçÇø (Winter 2020). The grant provided by the º£½ÇÉçÇø Water Resources Research Institute involves a collaboration between Dr. Neil Thompson in the Uº£½ÇÉçÇø School of Forest Resources, Sean Smith, commercial forest harvest business, and representatives from several state agencies.

WPES collaborators have received a new research grant (Fall 2020) from the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources to study harmful algae blooms along the coast of º£½ÇÉçÇø. Led by PI Lauren Ross and in Civil and Environmental Engineering and co-PI Sean Smith, this new grant expands our ongoing work related to land-sea connections affecting coastal areas and the sustainability of related communities and industries in º£½ÇÉçÇø.

(October 2020) An online seminar presented by WPES collaborators, Drs. Lauren Ross and Sean Smith, summarizes the multiple connections that are at the heart of the on-going solutions-driven research related to pollution and seafood industries along º£½ÇÉçÇø’s coast.

Coastal Pollution Research Grant awarded (Spring 2019) WPES affiliates have been awarded a new grant from the º£½ÇÉçÇø Water Resources Research Institute to conduct researchÌý for development of decision tools related to coastal bacteria pollution. The project builds on previous research led by the Mitchell Center focused on the scientific basis for decisions governing closures of shellfish harvesting areas and beaches in response to bacteria pollution problems.Ìý The new work will focus on land-sea connections and estuaries on the º£½ÇÉçÇø coast.Ìý

 

video published by Uº£½ÇÉçÇø Today magazine highlights activities during our fall semester (2016) float down the section of the Penobscot River near campus.Ìý

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article by Buscombe, Grams, and Smith selected as 2017 Best Technical Note by the editor of the .

WPS research group is highlighted in Uº£½ÇÉçÇø Today magazine article focused on a century of research in Acadia National Park umaine-today_a-century-in-acadia

WPES affiliates are included in Uº£½ÇÉçÇø Today article, , The Symbiosis Between a National Park and º£½ÇÉçÇø’s Public Research University. A companion article that highlights WPES research on .

 

 

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Ìý welcomes WPES participation (2/1/16)

. McGlaughlin 2015. Environmental Connection (International Erosion Control Assn.), Vol. 9, Issue 3, pp. 8-9.

Ìý AGU Geospace Blogosphere (12/30/15)

The Future of Dams: new $6 million NSF grant. University of º£½ÇÉçÇø News (8/10/15)

Student Research Spotlight: Looking for Warning Signs Beneath the Surface, Sen. George J. Mitchell Center News (2/18/15)

Publication finds upland sources contribute to sediment loads, Sen. George J. Mitchell Center News (1/29/15)

, Aislinn Sarnacki, Bangor Daily News (6/25/14)

Poster Session Honorable Mention at º£½ÇÉçÇø Sustainability and Water Conference:Ìý Van Dam, B,Ìý S. Smith, A. Reeve, B. Gerard. Hydrologic Implications of Upland Microtopography in Post-Glaciated º£½ÇÉçÇøÌý

Research Focus and History

My teaching and researchÌýfocusesÌýon watershed geomorphologyÌýwith attention toÌýprocessesÌýthat influenceÌýthe morphology and stability of hillslopes andÌýwaterways, and that governÌýthe flux of water, sediment and nutrients in the contemporary landscape.ÌýTopics of myÌýpast and presentÌýresearchÌýinclude stream channel morphology and stability, surface flow patterns in headwater drainage basins, watershed sediment budgets, and modern watershed best management and rehabilitation practices.ÌýI am particularly interested inÌýprojects seeking toÌýidentify, quantify and explain changes to landscapes caused by human activities.

MyÌýwork is inspired byÌýinterests in advancingÌýthe measurement,Ìýdescription and prediction ofÌýenvironmental impacts across spatial scales ranging fromÌýsingle hillslopes toÌýlarge watersheds and time scalesÌýspanning from a singleÌýrainfall event to millennia. I have extensive experience working in the Mid-Atlantic region of North America in collaboration with partners involved with the . I have a joint appointment with the and affiliation with the º£½ÇÉçÇø Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (MAFES).

Examples of interdisciplinary projects:

  • Safe Beaches and Shellfish Beds –
  • Patterns, Processes and Practices in the Headwaters of Central and Coastal º£½ÇÉçÇø
  • River habitat analysis for sturgeon habitat recovery (Penobscot River)
  • Safeguarding a Vulnerable Watershed (Sebago Lake)

These projects involve faculty, post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate research assistants that comprise the School of Earth and Climate Science’s Watershed Process and Sustainability Research Group working in collaboration with multiple colleagues, government agencies, and project stakeholders in º£½ÇÉçÇø and beyond.

Courses

ERS 200 – Earth Systems

ERS 350 – Freshwater Flows

ERS 588 – Advanced Freshwater Flows

ERS 361 – Principles of Geomorphology

ERS 461 – Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology

ERS 602 – CoastalÌý Land-Sea Connection Seminar

ERS 602 – Critical Zone and Watershed Sustainability Research

Graduate Advising

Advisor

Current:

Bea Van Dam – Ph.D. Student, Land-sea connections driving coastal pollution vulnerability

Hannah Horecka – M.S. Student, Coastal pollution dynamics

Graduated:

Brett Gerard – Ph.D., 2018,ÌýChannel bed dynamics in a coupled human-climate-post glacial system

Publications, Reports, and Professional Activities

Recent Publications

  • Roy, S.G., A. Daigneault, J. Zydlewski, A. Truhlar, S.MC. Smith, S. Jain, and D. Hart. 2020. Coordinated river infrastructure decisions improve social-ecological benefits. Environmental Research Letters.
  • Johnston, C., G.B. Zydlewski, S. Smith, J. Zydlewski, and M.T. Kinnison. 2019.ÌýRiver reach restored by dam removal offers suitable spawning habitat for endangered shortnose sturgeon. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, Vol. 148, Issue 1, pp. 163-175; DOI: 10.1002/tafs.10126
  • Roy, S.G., E. Uchidab, S.P. de Souzac, B. Blachly, E. Fox, K. Gardner, A.J. Gold, J. Jansujwicz, S. Klein, B. McGreavy, W. Moc, S.M.C. Smith, E. Vogleri, K. Wilson, J. Zydlewskik, and D. Hart. 2018. Damming decisions: a multi-scale approach to balance trade-offs among dam infrastructure, river restoration, and cost. Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesÌýNov 2018,ÌýVol. 115, No. 47, pp.Ìý12069-12074;ÌýDOI:10.1073/pnas.1807437115
  • Roy, S., G. Tucker, P. Koons, S. Smith, and P. Upton. 2016. A fault runs through it: modeling the influence of rock strength and grain-size distribution in a fault-damaged landscape. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 121, I. 10, pp. 1911–1930,ÌýÌý
  • Buscombe, D., P.E. Grams, S.M.C. Smith. 2015. Automated riverbed sediment classification using low cost side-scan sonar. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, doi:Ìý , 06015019.
  • Filoso, S., S.M.C. Smith, M.R. Williams, and M.A. Palmer. 2015. The Efficacy of Constructed Stream–Wetland Complexes at Reducing the Flux of Suspended Solids to Chesapeake Bay. Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 49, No. 15, pp. 8986–8994.
  • Buscombe, D., P.E. Grams, T.S. Melis, and S.M.C. Smith. 2015. . SEDHYD 2015, 3rd Joint Federal Interagency Conference (10th Federal Interagency Sedimentation Conference and 5th Federal Interagency Hydrologic Modeling Conference.
  • Smith, S.M.C. and P.R. Wilcock. 2015. Upland Sediment Supply and its Relation to Watershed Sediment Delivery in the Contemporary Mid-Atlantic Piedmont (U.S.A.), Geomorphology, Vol. 232, pp. 33-46, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.12.036ÌýÌý
  • Parr, T.B., C.S. Cronin, T. Ohno, S.E.G. Findlay, S.M.C. Smith, and K.S. Simon. 2015. Urbanization changes the composition and bioavailability of dissolved organic matter in headwater streams. Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 60, Issue 3, pp. 885-900,

Education Publications

  • Smith, S., L. Gutierrez, and A. Gagnon. 2000. Maryland Streams – Take a Closer Look. Watershed Restoration Division, Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Reprinted 2003, , 2009.

Recent Presentations

  • Skalak, K., J.E. Pizzuto, D.L. Karwan, S. Mahan, A. Benthem, E.W. Boyer, A. Kettner, R.K. LeBivic, A.J. Miller, G.B. Noe, and S.M.C. Smith. 2018. Temporal and spatial scales of sediment transport processes for watershed management. Fall Meeting, American Geophysical Union. Washington, D.C.
  • Gerard, B. and S.M.C. Smith. 2018. Stream dynamics in headwaters of postglacial watershed systems. º£½ÇÉçÇø Sustainability and Water Conference, Augusta, º£½ÇÉçÇø.
  • McGreavy, B., S. Randall, T. Quiring, S. Smith, S. Roy, B. Gerard, and C. Hathaway. 2017. Communicating coastal resilience: Interdisciplinary research partnerships to support shellfish management and protect public health. Conference on Communication and Environment, University of Leicester (UK).
  • Smith, S.M.C. 2017. INVITED – What is the importance of legacy sediment relative to other sediment sources in the Chesapeake Bay watershed? Chesapeake Bay Program, Science and Technical Advisory Committee workshop on legacy sediment. Annapolis, Maryland.
  • Smith, S.M.C. 2017. INVITED – Examining and communicating coastal pollution problems along the coast of º£½ÇÉçÇø. Northeast Shellfish Sanitation Annual Meeting. Freeport, º£½ÇÉçÇø.
  • Roy, S., B. Gerard, S. Smith, and B. McGreavy. 2017. A runoff based vulnerability analysis to examine the dynamics of bacteria pollution events in the Gulf of º£½ÇÉçÇø. º£½ÇÉçÇø Sustainability and Water Conference. Augusta, º£½ÇÉçÇø.
  • Smith, S. 2017. The ups and downs of simulation watershed processes in the º£½ÇÉçÇø terrain. º£½ÇÉçÇø Association of Professional Soil Scientists – Annual Meeting. º£½ÇÉçÇø.
  • Smith, S.M.C. 2016. INVITED – Downeast drainage: sources, delivery and residence time of runoff and pollutants along the Gulf of º£½ÇÉçÇø coast. Geological Society of º£½ÇÉçÇø, Fall Meeting. November 21, 2016.
  • Smith, S.M.C. 2016. INVITED – Mentoring through measurement, monitoring and modeling the Penobscot River. Penobscot Watershed Conference:Ìý Sharing our heritage, challenges and future. Lincolville, º£½ÇÉçÇø. April 2016.

Recent Posters

  • Van Dam, B.E., S.M.C. Smith, K. Beard, and S.G. Roy. 2018. Upland Micro-topography and implications to surface water detention in º£½ÇÉçÇø. Fall Meeting, American Geophysical Union. Washington, D.C.
  • Nesbit, I.M., S.W. Campbell, S.A. Arcone, S.M.C. Smith, B.G. Koffman. 2018. Sedimentary architecture and accumulation rates of multiple lakes in New England, USA. Fall Meeting, American Geophysical Union. Washington, D.C.
  • Roy, S.G., S.M.C. Smith, B. McGreavy, B. Gerard, B.E. Van Dam, and J.L. Ross. 2018. Resilient coastal communities: using interdisciplinary research and stakeholder engagement to face coastal pollution challenges in northern New England. Fall Meeting, American Geophysical Union. Washington, D.C.
  • Neptune, S., S. Roy, and S.M.C. Smith. 2018. Flooded corridors and the inundation of a nation. º£½ÇÉçÇø Sustainability and Water Conference, Augusta, º£½ÇÉçÇø.
  • Richmond, N., P. Koons, L. Ross, S. Smith, S. Roy, G. Zydlewski, and J. Zydlewski. 2018. Post-dam removal river hydraulics and the influence of derelict industrial logging infrastructure on modern aquatic habitat conditions. º£½ÇÉçÇø Sustainability and Water Conference, Augusta, º£½ÇÉçÇø