BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:EventsCalendar PRODID:-//hacksw/handcal//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York LAST-MODIFIED:20240422T053451Z TZURL:https://www.tzurl.org/zoneinfo-outlook/America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZNAME:EDT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:19700308T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZNAME:EST TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 DTSTART:19701101T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Arts and Sciences,College of Engineering,Graduate Stu dies,Lectures and Seminars,SMAST,SMAST Seminar Series,STEM DESCRIPTION:Seminar Announcement Department of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences "Coastal Cities: Managing Urban Impacts Below the Waterline" Katherine Da ffornDistinguished Professor and Director of the Stone Living Lab, UMass B ostonWednesday, April 29, 202612:30 - 1:30 pmSMAST E 101-103 and via Zoom Abstract: Coastal cities are increasingly shaped by human activity, yet ma ny of the impacts occur below the waterline. My research has focused on un derstanding how urban stressors such as artificial structures, stormwater, and industrial pollution impact on marine ecosystems, and how we can desi gn solutions to mitigate these impacts. Artificial structures like seawall s, pilings and pontoons tend to create featureless surfaces that lack the complexity of natural habitats, reduce biodiversity, and create a niche fo r invasive species. Through the Living Seawalls project in Australia, I’ ve worked with collaborators to develop and test eco-engineered panels tha t add habitat complexity and support native species. These panels have now been installed in more than 10 countries around the world and are providi ng insight into how different geometries perform under different environme ntal conditions. Through this project I have also explored how ecological principles can inform port design to reduce the risk of marine invasions, using biosecurity research to guide infrastructure planning. Other stresso rs associated with coastal cities include the contaminants introduced by s tormwater. My work on the structural and functional impacts of contaminant s has included measuring the responses of macro- and micro-organisms to st ormwater. In collaboration with the City of Sydney, I’ve also investigat ed whether sediment-dwelling organisms (bioturbators) can help remediate s tormwater-contaminated sediments by enhancing microbial processes. Industr ial pollution is another persistent stressor, and I’ve been using enviro nmental DNA (eDNA) to detect changes in benthic communities and assess eco system health. In my talk I’ll also introduce the work of the Stone Livi ng Lab in Boston, where we are applying nature-based approaches to build c oastal resilience with the support of different government, community and industry stakeholders. Together, these projects aim to inform sustainable design and management of urban coastal environments. Join Meeting https:// umassd.zoom.us/j/97440069270 Note: Meeting ID and passcode required. Email contact to obtain. For additional information, please contact Callie Rumb ut at c.rumbut@umassd.edu\nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/ smast-deos-seminar-coastal-cities-managing-urban-impacts-below-the-waterli ne-by-katherine-dafforn.php\nEvent link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/97440069 270 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Seminar Announcement

De partment of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences

"Coastal Cities: Managing Urban Impacts Below the Waterline"

Katherine Dafforn
Disting uished Professor and Director of the Stone Living Lab\, UMass Boston

Wednesday\, April 29\, 2026
12:30 - 1:30 pm
SMAST E 101-10 3 and via Zoom

Abstract:

Coastal cities are increasingly s haped by human activity\, yet many of the impacts occur below the waterlin e. My research has focused on understanding how urban stressors such as ar tificial structures\, stormwater\, and industrial pollution impact on mari ne ecosystems\, and how we can design solutions to mitigate these impacts. Artificial structures like seawalls\, pilings and pontoons tend to create featureless surfaces that lack the complexity of natural habitats\, reduc e biodiversity\, and create a niche for invasive species. Through the Livi ng Seawalls project in Australia\, I’ve worked with collaborators to dev elop and test eco-engineered panels that add habitat complexity and suppor t native species. These panels have now been installed in more than 10 cou ntries around the world and are providing insight into how different geome tries perform under different environmental conditions. Through this proje ct I have also explored how ecological principles can inform port design t o reduce the risk of marine invasions\, using biosecurity research to guid e infrastructure planning. Other stressors associated with coastal cities include the contaminants introduced by stormwater. My work on the structur al and functional impacts of contaminants has included measuring the respo nses of macro- and micro-organisms to stormwater. In collaboration with th e City of Sydney\, I’ve also investigated whether sediment-dwelling orga nisms (bioturbators) can help remediate stormwater-contaminated sediments by enhancing microbial processes. Industrial pollution is another persiste nt stressor\, and I’ve been using environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect cha nges in benthic communities and assess ecosystem health. In my talk I’ll also introduce the work of the Stone Living Lab in Boston\, where we are applying nature-based approaches to build coastal resilience with the supp ort of different government\, community and industry stakeholders. Togethe r\, these projects aim to inform sustainable design and management of urba n coastal environments.

Join Meeting

https://umassd.zoom.us/j/97440069270\n

Note: Meeting ID and passcode required. Email contact to obtain.

For additional information\, please contact Callie Rumbut at c.rumb ut@umassd.edu

Event page: https://www.umassd.edu/events/cms/smast-deos -seminar-coastal-cities-managing-urban-impacts-below-the-waterline-by-kath erine-dafforn.php
Event link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/97440069270

DTSTAMP:20260425T042436 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260429T133000 LOCATION:SMAST East 101-103 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:SMAST DEOS Seminar: "Coastal Cities: Managing Urban Impacts Below the Waterline" by Katherine Dafforn UID:ae32dfd055e78caed68b583c9ee7356f@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR