Shetland Islands Dune Project

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

In the summer of 2011, Alice and Joe Kelley, along with graduate student, Lee Sorrell, began a 3 year project in the Shetland Islands to study the dune field that buried a community in Quendale in coastal sand in the 17th Century.

shetlnd 5-26-11 site v w a
The modern beach is stable, but at times in the past, storms or human disturbance allowed sand to blow miles from the coast.

3 quendale bch vu w 5-30-11
We used ground-penetrating radar to study the internal structure of the dunes as well as to search for new sites.

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In other locations in the area there are sand-buried sites going back to Neolithic times. This project will continue in the summer, 2012 with coring.

2 jarlshof fe age house