I have to admit that I’m a bit geeky when it comes to maps. There’s just something neat about seeing how things relate spatially and looking at information that is related to that space. The coast of Maine is particularly interesting. With its 3,500 miles of coastline, some of it sandy, some of it rocky, none of it boring or consistent, maps are a critical way to understand the coastal resources that are specific to each area.

Once you have a map, then you can gather the information you need to help better manage those resources. That’s what brought together a group of scientists, waterfront businesses and organizations who all shared the goal of developing a new coastal ocean model that is useful to many different types of audiences. The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership is one of 28 National Estuary Programs and is a collaboration between partners dedicated to protecting and restoring Casco Bay. Partners include local, state and federal government organizations as well as nonprofits, businesses, citizens and educational institutions. CBEP initiated the Casco Bay Modeling Project to create a dynamic ocean model that will both allow for improved information that is useful to varied audiences from town planners to fishermen to recreational boaters. One of the drivers of the plan is the need to be able to respond to changes along the coast resulting from both development and climate change. The model is being developed by the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, in association with the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems, where you can already find detailed information on ocean conditions (neracoos.org).

In order to gather input on the development of the new model, CBEP hosted a series of workshops with a variety of representatives, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the City of Portland, several research and educational groups, along with citizens, business owners and representatives from commercial fishing and aquaculture. Topics covered included flooding risks, water quality and port operations. The discussions addressed how to make the information most accessible and useful for different audiences. The goal is that the model will be designed for anyone interested in learning more about ocean conditions and patterns, rather than for just professionals working and studying the waterfront.

For example, there will be an ocean weather report that provides three-day forecasts about water movements in and out of Casco Bay as well as more discrete daily weather forecasts. In the future, there will also be predictive tools to look at the impact from storms and also to identify long-term patterns in the bay. Data like the velocity of currents, wave height, water temperature and salinity will be available at a finer-scale level and will be more up to date.

The utility of the model runs the gamut, which is both a plus but also a challenge — to make it useful for a variety of audiences. To that end, CBEP is asking for input from the public about what kinds of information they would like to see and in what formats. If you are interested in learning more about this project or contributing feedback, you can find out more at cascobayestuary.org/casco-bay/modeling-casco-bay/. A draft of the model is set to be ready for release this coming summer and then will be in a testing mode to refine its accuracy and to refine the tools necessary to make the model most useful to a variety of audiences.