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UNE researchers now tracking real-time seismic activity off Maine's coast
The project aims to measure earthquake and large-wave activity to better track climate change along the Maine coast
RAM ISLAND — RB3CB: remember that name.
That’s the handle for the University of New England’s newest piece of research equipment that was installed on April 24 on Ram Island to allow a team of students and faculty track earthquake and large wave activity for a global network of scientists to better understand the effects of climate change along the Maine coast.
UNE’s new seismometer — called the “Raspberry Shake” — enables researchers to track earthquake activity and the force created by storm surge on the 2-acre island that the University owns two miles off the Saco coast. The seismograph’s data can be viewed by anyone online at the Raspberry Shake website and will be analyzed by students in the University’s new Sustainable Innovation Center that opened this spring, said Lisa Herschbach, Ph.D., director of the UNE Office of Innovation.
By more closely studying the microcosm that is Ram Island — which is positioned between the Saco River estuary and the Gulf of Maine — researchers can better understand the environmental changes resulting from sea level rise to help coastal communities prepare for the worsening effects of climate change, said Will Kochtitzky, Ph.D., assistant professor of geographic information systems (GIS) in the School of Marine and Environmental Programs in UNE’s College of Arts and Sciences.
“We know that Ram Island is going to be under water in the coming decades. We know that sea levels are going to continue to rise and it’s going to make this little patch of grass be no more,” said Kochtitzky, who is leading the research project. “But what we don't know is when it's going to happen. So, if we can monitor it, we can watch that evolution happen over the coming decades.”
Ram Island was donated to UNE in 2015 by Arthur P. Girard, HON ’24, a philanthropist whose vision and generosity have supported UNE’s growth over the past decade. The island is a living laboratory for marine science research and experiential learning opportunities, including the study of seabirds, environmental DNA, erosion, and seaweed in UNE’s kelp farm, located beside the island.
“The Shake” marks a new era of robust research on the island, Kochtitzky said.
The 3.8-magnitude earthquake that hit York County on Jan. 27 sent a notable seismic shock through the region and beyond. But such events are not uncommon. On average, several earthquakes occur in Maine annually, according to the Maine Geological Survey.
New data from the Shake will provide real-world evidence of such tremors, as well as evidence of the erosion along the coast caused by massive waves battering the island. While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operates a wave buoy in Portland Harbor that measures wave height, it’s not as close to the coastline as Ram Island, so the data UNE’s Raspberry Shake collects will be unique.
See how UNE empowers student researchers to tackle pressing scientific issues right in its own backyard.
“One of the things we learned from the January 2024 storms is that when really large wave and storm events occur, we get high storm surge, big waves, we see the beaches are completely devastated,” Kochtitzky said. “So, if we can understand when these waves are occurring, how big they are, we can help our coastal communities prepare and we can help restore coastal infrastructure that’s going to protect our communities from extreme weather events.”
Hailey Haynes-Davis (Marine Biology, ’27), who grew up in upstate New York surrounded by lakes and rivers, came to UNE for just that kind of research opportunity. Now Haynes-Davis is one of three students helping to launch the Raspberry Shake project as a Shaw Innovation Fellow, which is supported by entrepreneur and philanthropist David Evans Shaw. The other members of the Shake research team are Tyler Janik (Aquaculture and Aquarium Science, ’27) and Cloey Parlapiano (Environmental Science and Aquaculture, Aquarium Science, and Aquaponics ’25).
“I’m really passionate about the environment and about how climate change is affecting the ocean," Haynes-Davis said. "And I think this university is unique in the way they teach marine science because UNE has its own private island to do research. I like how available the island is. It’s not that far from campus. It’s one of the reasons why I came to UNE.”
With nothing to see but seagulls, eider ducks, seals, and craggy ledges around the tiny outcrop, Ram Island is heavily used by a number of animals. Soon, UNE student researchers also will monitor what’s happening in the water. The plan is to build out the observation network with the seismograph and, in another month, with video cameras that will be mounted on the small cabin. In time, other monitoring tools will be added.
On April 24, the first step in that student-led, climate-change research began when Kochtitzky and Haynes-Davis took a 12- minute boat ride away from the University research pier to install the seismometer, which is smaller than a shoe box. With help from the Marine Science Center staff and a team from UNE Information Technology Services, who hooked up Wi-Fi, they installed the small hand-held device in the Ram Island cottage.
A few hours later, Kochtitzky opened his laptop and went to the Raspberry Shake webpage to look up UNE’s handle: RB3CB. Then the group jumped for joy — literally.
Three to four members of the UNE team leapt into the air to create the first tremors that registered on the colorful graph on the Shake web page. The small vibrations demonstrated in real time how the device would measure the massive thundering waves in the future.
“A lot of students are really excited about the idea of coming to the island for this experience," Haynes-Davis said. “I had not been out here before this trip. And it’s interesting to see animals in their natural habitat — the birds and the seals. Ram Island is unique because it’s mostly untouched, for the most part, by human activity. ”