November 2003 Meeting Abstract

The evening's speaker will be Dr. Joseph Atkinson, Professor in the Department of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Buffalo. Dr Atkinson will give a presentation on "Buffalo River Remediation Activities."

The Buffalo River was listed in the mid-1980's by the International Joint Commission as one of the 43 "Areas of Concern" in the Great Lakes basin, due to beneficial use impairments. As with other Areas of Concern, a major issue in the Buffalo River is the state of sediments. Although industrial activity has diminished to a fraction of the level of the past century, the legacy of that activity is contained in the sediments, which exhibit elevated levels of heavy metals and organic contaminants. As a result of its designation as an Area of Concern, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was tasked with development of a Remedial Action Plan (RAP) in the 1980's and, along with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, various data collection and modeling efforts were instigated to evaluate the current state of the river in greater detail and to develop plans and criteria to delist the river.

These activities are reviewed in Dr. Atkinson's talk, which will focus on recent and current activities conducted through the University at Buffalo (UB) and Buffalo State College. Studies involving water quality, as exhibited by dissolved oxygen levels, and contaminated sediment will be highlighted, and current actions being taken to move the river off the list as an Area of Concern, in conjunction with other rehabilitation efforts, will be summarized.

Dr. Atkinson is a Professor of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering and Head of the Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at UB. He received his B.S. in interdisciplinary studies at Harvey Mudd College, his Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, and his PH. D. in Civil Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a registered professional engineer in New York, and has been part of the UB faculty since 1984. Dr. Atkinson is also Director of UB's Great Lakes Program, which facilitates research, public education, and outreach efforts on Great Lakes related topics. Some of Dr. Atkinson's current research projects include water quality modeling in Lake Ontario; sediment transport modeling on the Buffalo River; facilities planning for a Great Lakes Research Institute; algal biophysics and transport modeling; and management of a multidisciplinary study of the environmental effects of water level regulation in Lake Ontario.

Please make plans to join us on Wednesday November 19th to hear Dr. Atkinson's presentation on current research and rehabilitation efforts in the Buffalo River.

Francine Cohen

BAPG Executive Vice-President