The recently established School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) is the primary focus of marine science education, research, and economic development activities for the Dartmouth campus. The school draws upon the expertise of eleven departments involved with teaching and research in marine sciences and technology, including the long - standing M.S. program in marine biology and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees programs in electrical engineering oriented towards marine sciences and technology.
The school conducts research in the natural laboratory of the coastal ocean environment of Southeastern Massachusetts and adjacent waters, including the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank, and at its extensive, new research complex. This complex, 32,000 gross square feet in size and located along Clark's Cove, New Bedford, features: 15 laboratories; a free - standing, instrumented acousto/optic test tank for research and experimentation in underwater acoustics, optics, and instrumentation; a 300 gallon/minute flow - through sea water system which provides ambient Buzzards Bay sea water to all laboratories; a large sea water tank room for storing marine organisms for use in research and teaching; a greenhouse for the growth and long - term maintenance of aquatic photosynthetic organisms under natural light; three temperature control rooms for long - term behavioral and physiological experiments and acclimation of marine organisms for culture and reproduction; a dock for temporary mooring and off - loading of research vessels; and several support facilities, including a radionuclide laboratory, computer lab, machine shop, multimedia conference room equipped with distance - learning hardware, and a library/chart room.
SMAST's research efforts are focused in a systems approach along crosscutting themes: fisheries assessment and management, ocean prediction and monitoring systems, coastal zone systems, advanced aquaculture systems, ocean communications, tracking and control, and underwater vehicles and systems.
The Fisheries Assessment and Management Program builds stock assessment and fishery management models for the New England and Mid - Atlantic fishing industries. Its efforts have led to recommendations to assist the scallop fishing industry through rotational harvesting in Georges Bank. The program plays a vital role in the Massachusetts Fisheries Recovery Commission, which is chaired by SMAST's Director.
The Ocean Prediction and Monitoring Program uses an array of sensors to monitor changes in physical, chemical, and biological properties of the coastal zone of the northeast United States. It has recently expanded the Harvard Ocean Prediction System to include shallow water regions of the western North Atlantic and the Gulf of Maine. A major focus of the program is the design of an Advanced Fisheries Management Information System (AFMIS). This is a highly interdisciplinary effort which integrates physical, biological, and fisheries observations with a corresponding suite of coupled models to produce a real - time status and forecast information for use by an entire spectrum of users, including researchers and environmental and resource managers.
The Commonwealth Coastal Zone Program provides high quality scientific support for the management of coastal ecosystems including bays, harbors, wetlands, and watersheds. It is the repository for much of the ecological data on estuaries in southeastern Massachusetts. The leader of Massachusett's Executive Office of Environmental Affair's (EOEA) Buzzards Bay Watershed Team is located at SMAST.
The Aquaculture Systems Development Program supports existing aquaculture industry and fosters further growth through scientific research, policy analysis, and the development of new technologies. An operating commercial fish hatchery is located at SMAST, which is used to study means of improving the stock of summer flounder in Buzzards Bay. The hatchery will evolve into an educational economic - development laboratory.
The Ocean Communications Tracking and Control Program makes use of laser light, underwater sound, and electromagnetic radiation to improve our work in the ocean environment. The program is developing, in partnership with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, unmanned underwater vehicles for marine exploration, survey, and monitoring. Lasers are used to communicate with and track the vehicles through the ocean's surface and to examine ocean - scattering characteristics along their path.
Work in these areas is supplemented by research in a wide range of activities throughout SMAST and the Dartmouth campus. For example, the Oceanographic Remote Sensing Laboratory (ORSL) specializes in acquiring, analyzing, and archiving satellite - derived data of interest to physical and biological oceanographers and other marine scientists. Current data holdings include sea - surface temperature (SST) images from 1985 to present and Coastal Zone Color Scanner and SeaWiFS ocean - color data from the western North Atlantic. Lab researchers are currently funded by NOAA, NSF, and NASA to study coupled physical and biological variability on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine, involving phytoplankton and zooplankton, Northern Right whales, and various demersal and pelagic fisheries. The Lab [?] is also studying global warming in the Antarctic Ocean, whale tracking and communication, and dolphin, shark, and fish behavior.
Work in the Ocean Modeling and Analysis Laboratory includes regional modeling of the northeastern continental shelf of the United States, coastal environment simulation, and multidisciplinary visualization. The primary focus of the Lab is to design and develop multiscale feature models for the global coastal oceans that can be used for nowcasting, forecasting, and assimilation purposes in numerical model simulations. The Lab is working on the physical - system initialization and real - time Internet data distribution components of the AFMIS project [right meaning?]. Other activities of this Labe include:
Study of the variability of the Gulf of Maine, funded by the Naval Underwater Weapons Center (NUWC).
Development of global ocean modeling in a parallel architecture environment, relevant for climate studies.
Collaborations with the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the United Kingdom, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Indian Space Research Organization.
Development of distance - learning courses in ocean modeling and circulation and other similar courses in ocean and atmosphere dynamics.
Other marine - related areas of study at the Dartmouth campus include:
Marine biology:
- Studies of trophic accumulation of red tide toxins in zooplankton in the Gulf of Maine.
- Characterization of phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in Buzzards Bay and in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays in relation to the new Boston Harbor outfall.
- Studies of copepod feeding and reproductive success.
- Development and testing of non - toxic anti - biofouling treatments for aquaculture materials.
- Study of the ecological impacts of non - indigenous marine species, especially crabs.
- Development of alternative feeds for fish aquaculture.
- Studies of parasites of elasmobranch fishes.
- Microbiology of marine organisms.
Chemistry and biochemistry: studies of major biogeochemical cycles in the marine environment, shellfish toxicity and fish botulism, and isolation of plant and animal natural products.
Physics: data analysis from the World Ocean Circulation Experiment to infer the role of upper ocean mixing processes in the North Atlantic, supported by an NSF grant.
Mathematics and computer science: development of mathematical models of the ocean environment and methods for handling extremely large databases of information.
Electrical and computer engineering: development of underwater acoustic sensors to improve sensitivity and flexibility; development of laser systems for underwater and through - the - surface communications and navigation; studies of marine mammal sounds to determine information content; studies of the interaction of marine mammals with man - made sound; the development of sensors to study the ocean environment.
Civil and environmental engineering: studies of the restoration of aquifers and wetlands; the development of hydro - climatolgical models; heavy metal decontamination.
Biotechnology: development of biosensors and biomarkers; development of anti - biofouling composite materials.
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About SMS Academic Calendar
