Thesis advisor: Noah P. Snyder / Thesis advisor: Gail C. Kineke / Maine coastal rivers host the last remaining runs of endangered anadromous Atlantic salmon in the United States, whose populations have decline from ~500,000 returning adults in the 1880s to only ~1000 in 2000. Restoration projects have focused on these coastal river systems to bring natural populations back to the area, and recent efforts involve adding large woody debris (LWD) to small tributaries to improve salmon rearing habitat. Large woody debris actively changes the hydraulics and geomorphology of small streams by acting as a barrier to flow and creating decreased velocity zones, scour pools, and sediment storage and sorting. I study the effects of LWD additions in early August 2008 on hydraulics and substrate in Baker Brook, a west-flowing tributary of the Narraguagus River. Hydraulically, I focus on the treatment reach nearest the confluence with the Narraguagus River (Baker1), and I also study changes in substrate in Baker1 and the upstream treatment location (Baker3). Both study locations are divided into two reaches, treatment (Baker1-T and Baker3-T) and control (Baker1-C and Baker3-C). In Baker1, the treatment and control reaches are further divided into four 50 m sub-reaches based on channel gradient (~1% in Baker1-C-Flat and Baker1-T-Flat; >2% in Baker1-C-Steep and Baker1-T-Steep). In Baker3, we use two 50 m sub-reaches of similar gradient (ranges from ~1% to 2%) to determine substrate changes. Significant post-LWD addition changes are determined by comparison with the control sub-reaches. Changes in the treatment sub-reaches must be larger than those in the control sub-reaches to be deemed significant. I seek to answer three research questions: (1) how much does mean velocity through the study sub-reaches change as a result of additions; (2) how much does hydraulic roughness change; and (3) does sediment storage and spatial sorting result from the LWD additions? I measured reach-average velocities (Ureach) in Baker1 using the salt dilution method in May, July and August 2008 and May 2009. I use rating curves to compare the post-treatment to the pre-treatment Ureach-stage relationship. A temporary decrease in Ureach occurred in October 2008 in Baker1-T-Flat, whereas the other sub-reaches experienced no change in Ureach. A localized change in cross-sectionally averaged velocity (U) measured with a flow meter, is also evident at Baker1-T-Flat, but this is because an added tree lies directly in the downstream cross-section where measurements are recorded. I assessed channel roughness changes by comparing roughness rating curves created using the Manning roughness parameter, n (back-calculated from velocity measurements) for each sub-reach. Because of the short-term decrease in Ureach, roughness increased in Baker1-T-Flat in October 2008 as well. No change in roughness is evident in the other sub-reaches because post-treatment values of n plot on the same decreasing trend with respect to stage as pre-treatment values. I quantified pre- and post-treatment sub-reach substrate median grain size (D50) with intensive clast counts in July 2008 and May 2009. In Baker1, analysis of pre-treatment substrate size show that the flat sub-reaches have a finer substrate size (34-38 mm) than the steep sub-reaches (88-134 mm). Baker3 pre-treatment grain size is similar to that of the flat Baker1 sub-reaches, with a median grain size of 38 mm in Baker3-T and 28 mm in Baker3-C. Two of the three treatment sub-reaches exhibited significant fining (D50 decreased by 37-54%) between the surveys, and the third changed less than measurement uncertainty. One of the three control sub-reaches coarsened significantly (D50 increased by 29%), one fined significantly (-42%), and one coarsened less than measurement uncertainty. In summary, I find that LWD additions in Baker Brook had little effect on reach-scale hydraulics during the flows we observed, but did influence bed-grain size during the 10-month study interval, underscoring the importance of floods on channel change. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Geology and Geophysics.

Thesis advisor: John E. Ebel / Large magnitude offshore passive margin earthquakes are rare, making small magnitude events (M < 4) the predominant data available to study the mechanisms of seismicity along passive margins. This study is focused on a swarm of events (M2.1-M3.9) that occurred from 2012-2013 located in the Gulf of Maine (GM) along the Atlantic Passive Margin (APM) shelf break, a region with previously minimal recorded seismic activity. Relative locations were calculated for the earthquakes of the GM swarm and a moment tensor inversion method was used to calculate focal mechanisms for the two largest events in the swarm. The results of the relative location method constrained a fault orientation to a strike of 243° ± 3° and a dip of 25° ± 3°. The focal mechanisms for the two largest events were determined to be oblique normal faults with steeply dipping planes at depths between 12-18 km. For the largest event (M3.9), the strike is 235° ± 1°, with a dip of 77.7° ± .8° and a rake of -116.5° ± 3°, and for the second largest event (M3.7) the strike is 259° ± 3°, with a dip of 78° ± 2° and a rake of -58.8° ± 7°. By mapping the spatial extent of the relative hypocenters, I infer a potential fault size of 2.7 km by 2.4 km. If this entire area were to rupture at once in the future, an earthquake of M4.9-M5.0 could occur, a magnitude not large enough to be tsunamigenic in the GM. Based on Gutenberg-Richter relations from the eastern APM, if a M7 can occur in the GM, its estimated mean repeat time is 2,120-22,800 years, and it could be tsunamigenic depending on the event’s proximity to the continental slope. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Cette étude sur les sociétés instrumentales d'Angers, Cholet et Saumur, participe à un vaste programme de valorisation des expressions musicales populaires du dernier tiers de XIXe siècle. Par leur nombre et leur dynamisme, les sociétés de Maine-et-Loire concourent activement à la diffusion de la pratique amateur sous la Troisième République. Il nous a paru nécessaire de situer les sociétés urbaines dans leur environnement général. Le Maine-et-Loire dispose en effet d'atouts indéniables pour s'affirmer comme un haut lieu de l'expression orphéonique. Notre réflexion se poursuit ensuite par une présentation historique et sociologique des principales sociétés instrumentales d'Anggers, Cholet et Saumur. Ces sociétés doivent en particulier leur incroyable vitalité à un engagement républicain. Un examen des pratiques et des répertoires musicaux complète l'ensemble. / This study on the instrumental societies of Angers, Cholet and Saumur, is part of a vast program of valuation of the popular musical expressions of the last third of the 19th century. By their number and their dynamism, the societies of Maine-et-Loire contribute actively to the spreading of the amateur practice under the Third Republic. It seemed necessary to place the urban societies in their general environment. Maine-et-Loire has undeniable assets to assert itself as the centre of the "orphéonique" expression. Our reflection continues then by a historical and sociological presentation of the main instrumental societies of Angers, Cholet and Saumur. These societies owe in particular their incredible vitality to a republican commitment. A study of the musical practises and repertoire complete the whole.

This creative project demonstrates the development of a curriculum in biology based upon the responses of people, animals, and plants to seasonal and other changes in the environment. The method consisted of five steps: (1) a large number of concepts were written out which included all the areas of specialization within biology; (2) a list of the seasonal activities observed in people, animals, and plants for the coastal Maine area was prepared; (3) a list of topics relating the activities to biology was prepared; (Lt) concepts were assigned to the topics; and (5) teaching activities and methods were suggested for each concept. The course offers the advantages of being extremely flexible, highly interesting, and relevant to students' lives.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

Reproduction de : Thèse de doctorat : Histoire : Le Mans : 2005. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr. p. 775-810.

Thesis (M.A.) in History--University of Maine, 2002. / Includes vita. Bibliography: leaves 102-105.

Long-lived trees preserve a record of environmental conditions during their lifetime in the pattern of yearly xylem widths and in changing wood density within and among the increments. Crossdated earlywood, latewood, and total ring widths, and minimum earlywood and maximum latewood densities, from three sites in the mountains of Maine, are analyzed visually and statistically to evaluate their relationships to one another and to external, environmental factors which affect the ring width and density through internal, physiological processes. Maximum density values show highest levels of similarity within and among the three site chronologies, thus implying a good degree of sensitivity to climate; minimum density values, however, showed lowest sensitivity to climate. Two biologically reasonable hypotheses concerning climate--tree growth interactions are proposed: (1) that maximum density is related to spring temperatures prior to its formation; and (2) that maximum density is related to summer water relations as the latewood forms. With the help of response function analysis, simple correlation, and multiple linear regression, these two hypotheses are tested: (1) maxmum density as a single predictor explains up to 37% of spring temperature variance; with earlywood widths at one site, 47% of spring temperature variance is explained; (2) maximum density as a single predictor explains up to 45% of summer temperature variance, 11% of summer precipitation variance, and 23% of the variance of Thornthwaite water deficit values; with total ring widths at one site, 22% of the variance of summer stream runoff is explained. Regression equations were applied to the 201- to 310-year tree-ring records to form reconstructions of these past climatic events. Independent verification testing of the reconstructions strongly validates the relationship between maximum density and spring temperature; the relationship to summer water relations is not as strongly verified, but results encourage further testin of this relationship. Results from this study may be applied both to (1) an increased understanding of relationship of climate to the formation of wood density; and (2) further development of dendroclimatology in mesic regions such as northeastern North America.

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Maine is at a crossroads in its energy future. With 80 percent of homes in the state heated by oil, the highest percentage in the country, Mainers find themselves addicted to imported energy and without a renewable powered heating alternative for the long, harsh winters. Enter offshore wind into the equation. A relatively unknown technology in the United States, offshore wind farms are currently powering one million homes in Europe. Furthermore, the Gulf of Maine has world class wind resources that could potentially provide double the power production of the state’s current peak electricity demand. Through eight weeks of research conducted in Portland, Maine, which consisted of a literature review and stakeholder interviews, I have identified and focused on the key opportunities and obstacles to successful offshore wind energy development in Maine in the short and long term.