On Tuesday, August 21, at 7 pm in the Visitor Center, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve brings back one of its most popular “ Research at the Reserve” talks, “Studying the Past to Understand the Future: A Submerged Ancient Forest and Sea Level Rise”. Chris Maio, UMass Boston doctoral student, will highlight his research currently underway about the ancient tree stumps recently exposed at South Cape Beach and update the program he presented at the Reserve last fall.
The stumps at the South Cape Beach ancient forest site first appeared after a fierce storm in spring, 2009. The appearance of the 200 stumps along the shore has generated a lot of community interest and provides a great opportunity to learn about how local ecosystems responded to climate change in the past. Chris Maio’s research, “A Preliminary Investigation into the Geologic Evolution of South Cape Beach” focuses on understanding how coastlines respond to sea-level rise, urbanization, and extreme weather events during ancient and historical times. He uses a variety of state-of-the-art technologies to probe into the past.
Says Maio, “Through my research, I hope to contribute to a clearer understanding of how coastal areas have evolved over time enhancing our ability to perceive potential changes in the future.” Chris Maio is pursuing his PhD in Environmental Science at UMass Boston and is currently an instructor there for Introduction to the Global Environment.
Find out what's happening in Falmouthfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Community members are invited to join in for a casual night of discussion and learning about Chris’s research within the Reserve and the tools he uses to decipher the ancient past. Participants will get a chance to see some of the high-tech gadgets up close in person. Results of the Carbon-14 dating will be discussed at this event.
