I hold a joint appointment with the Maine Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI) and the Department of Earth Sciences. The focus of my work is on watershed geomorphology with attention to processes that influence the morphology and stability of hillslopes and waterways, and that govern the flux of water, sediment and nutrients in the contemporary landscape. Topics of my research have included examination of morphological attributes that influence stream channel stability, identification of surface flow patterns in headwater drainage basins, construction of watershed sediment budgets, and evaluations of modern watershed best management and rehabilitation practices. I am particularly interested in projects seeking to identify, quantify and explain changes to landscapes caused directly or indirectly by human activities.

Much of my research is inspired by interest in advancing the ability to measure, describe and predict environmental impacts at the scales of small and large watersheds. I have extensive experience working in the Mid-Atlantic region of North America in collaboration with partners involved with the USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program. I am currently involved with several interdisciplinary projects in the SSI portfolio, including: Mapping a Sustainable Future, Sustaining and Restoring Urban Stream Resources in Maine, and Safeguarding a Vulnerable Watershed (Sebago Lake).

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Doctoral Research Assistantship in Sustainability Science Focusing on Watershed Processes

Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI) at the University of Maine has a position open to study the physical characteristics of landforms and tributary networks within headwater drainage basins in an interdisciplinary research program. Refer to the SSI web site (http://www.umaine.edu/sustainabilitysolutions/students/grad_openings.htm#Watershed) for details. Submit inquiries to sean.m.smith@maine.edu with subject line “SSI assistantship”. Reviews of applications to start on February 20, 2012.