UMASS Professor Receives Award for Work to Preserve Massachusetts Coastline

The 2011 University Service Award was presented to Professor Brian Howes at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth Alumni Dinner. UMASS Dartmouth is the location of the School of Marine Science and Technology. The presentation went to Dr. Howes as  "a professor who has worked for decades to preserve the Massachusetts coastline," Dr. Howes Coastal Systems Program provides basic and applied scientific information to address the growing ecological degradation of coastal ecosystems, with an emphasis on public outreach and education.

The Coastal Systems Program includes the Estuaries Project, a science based management program for the restoration and protection of Massachusetts’ estuarine resources. This program, central to the Coastal Systems group, provides technical and scientific support to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. This effort brings together state, regional and local agencies in an effort to restore and protect marine estuaries. The six-year project will collect data and provide modeling for the restoration and management of 89 nitrogen sensitive embayments.

The Coastal Systems Group is also focusing on Marine Renewable Energy. The group uses an investigative approaches to characterize near shore sites for viability of renewable energy from tidal/ocean currents and waves. Other focus areas include denitrification in sediment and saltmarsh, as well as eelgrass distribution and water quality.

The Coastal Systems Program also currently provides a volunteer monitoring program, which provides technical assistance covering over 50 Massachusetts embayments statewide. The volunteer monitering program began through NOAA Sea Grant in 1987. The scientists at the center for Marine Science and Technology were chosen to design a program  for Volunteer  Monitering of Coastal Waters, where high quality data could be collected by volunteers trained by research professionals.