Aria Amirbahman

Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering

319A Boardman Hall

University of Maine
Orono, Maine 04469-5711
Phone: 207.581.1277
Fax: 207.581.3888
Email: Ariaa@maine.edu

Education:

Ph.D. – Civil & Environmental Engineering,
University of California Irvine, 1994.

M.S. – Civil Engineering,
San Jose State University, 1989.

B.S. – Civil Engineering,
San Jose State University, 1984.

Courses:

CIE 350 Hydraulics
CIE 351 Hydraulics Lab
CIE 430 Water Treatment
CIE 431 Pollutant Fate and Transport
CIE 533 Aquatic Environmental Chemistry

Research Interest:

Aria’s areas of research interest are aquatic chemistry and contaminant transport, and in particular, the study of speciation and transport of metals and nutrients, and their interactions with mineral surfaces and natural organic matter in natural and engineered systems. Present focus is on the internal phosphorus cycling in temperate lakes, development of the diffusive gradient in thin film (DGT) device as a biomonitoring tool for mercury bioavailability, fate and transport of mercury in lakes and wetlands, and development of catalysts for photodegradation of contaminants. Prior to coming to the University of Maine in fall 1997, Aria was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG). He is a cooperating professor with the Chemistry Department, and the School of Policy and International Affairs at the University of Maine. He has been a visiting professor at the Division of Soil Protection, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITÖ), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zürich) (5/98-9/98), and at the U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA (1/04-9/04; 1/11-9/11). Aria has five years of professional experience as an environmental and water resources engineer in the public and private sectors, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of California. In addition to his teaching and research duties, he has performed consulting on environmental issues for public agencies and private companies.

Selected Publications:

  1. Amirbahman, A., D.I. Massey, G. Lotufo, N. Steenhaut, L.E. Brown, J.M. Biedenbach, and V.S. Magar, “Assessment of mercury bioavailability to benthic macroinvertebrates using diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT).” Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, 2013, 15, 2104−2114.
  2. Amirbahman A., D.B. Kent, G.P. Curtis, and M.C. Marvin-DiPasquale, “Kinetics of homogeneous and surface-catalyzed mercury(II) reduction by iron(II).” Environmental Science & Technology, 2013, 47, 7204−7213.
  3. Amirbahman A., B.A. Lake, and S.A. Norton, “Seasonal phosphorus dynamics in the surficial sediment of two shallow temperate lakes: A solid-phase and pore-water study.” Hydrobiologia, 2013, 701, 65−77.
  4. Sunderland E., A. Amirbahman, N. Burgess, J. Dalziel, G. Harding, S.H. Jones, M.R. Karagas, and C.Y. Chen, “Mercury sources and fate in the Gulf of Maine.” Environmental Research, 2012, 119, 27−41.
  5. Lake B.A., C.R. Wigdahl, K.E. Strock, J.E. Saros, and A. Amirbahman, “Multi-proxy paleolimnological assessment of biogeochemical versus food web controls on the trophic states of two shallow, mesotrophic lakes.” Journal of Paleolimnology, 2011, 46, 45−57.
  6. Porcal P., A. Amirbahman, J. Kopáček, and S.A. Norton, “Experimental photochemical release of organically-bound aluminum and iron in three streams in Maine, USA.” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2010, 171, 71−81.
  7. Wilson T.A., A. Amirbahman, S.A. Norton, and M.A. Voytek, “A record of phosphorus dynamics in oligotrophic lake sediment.” Journal of Paleolimnology, 2010, 44, 279−294.
  8. Porcal P., A. Amirbahman, J. Kopáček, F. Novák, S.A. Norton, “Photochemical release of humic and fulvic acid-bound metals from simulated soil and streamwater.” Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2009, 11, 1064−1071.
  9. Ohno T., A. Amirbahman, and R. Bro, “Parallel factor analysis of excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectra of water-soluble organic matter as basis for the determination of conditional metal binding parameters.” Environmental Science & Technology, 2008, 42, 186−192.
  10. Merritt K.A., and A. Amirbahman, “Cycling of methylmercury in estuarine sediment pore waters (Penobscot River Estuary, Maine, USA).” Limnology and Oceanography, 2008, 53, 1064−1075.
  11. Lake B.A., K.M. Coolidge, S.A. Norton, and A. Amirbahman, “Factors contributing to the internal loading of phosphorus from anoxic sediments in six Maine, USA, lakes.” Science of the Total Environment, 2007, 373, 534−541.
  12. Merritt K.A., and A. Amirbahman, “Mercury mobilization in estuarine sediment porewaters: A diffusive gel gradient study.” Environmental Science & Technology, 2007, 41, 717−722.