The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (CBEP) hosted a workshop at the Eastland Park Hotel in Portland, ME on May 18-19, 2011 to bring together a small group of coastal scientists and resource managers to discuss circulation in Casco Bay and the surrounding waters. The purpose of the workshop was to clarify types of data and models needed to better address management issues. The results of the workshop are guiding CBEP's expanding efforts in this area for the next several years.

Understanding of circulation in Casco Bay is necessary to address a variety of water quality and habitat-related questions.  Coastal and near shore circulation patterns influence transport mechanisms with direct management implications including movement of nutrients and pollutants including oil, distribution of shellfish larvae, pathways of invasion of non-native species, and the spatio-temporal dynamics of harmful algal blooms such as red tide.

Applied Science Associates presented a report summarizing past circulation studies in Casco Bay, relevant hydrodynamic and other modeling approaches, and available data sets relevant to circulation modeling in Casco Bay.  The draft report was provided to meeting participants before the meeting.  It provided a starting point for in depth discussion of needs and opportunities occurring at the workshop.

The goal of the workshop was to identify key data collection, modeling, visualization or other actions that could enhance understanding of Casco Bay circulation patterns and facilitate use of that understanding to improve coastal management.

To achieve this goal, workshop participants:

• Characterized the needs of resource managers for information or model output regarding circulation in Casco Bay
• Identified key data or other needs limiting the ability of models to address scientific or management needs
• Helped determine the scope of modeling efforts sufficient to address management and scientific needs by clarifying model design features such as geographic extent, boundary conditions and seasonal coverage needed to address those needs