Dynamic Diversity in a Catholic Augustinian College

This article shows how Merrimack College’s Catholic heritage and Augustinian tradition provide intellectual and spiritual resources for the college to fulfill its educational responsibility to prepare students for virtuous citizenship in a religiously and culturally pluralistic society. It uses four major Vatican documents and several foundational Augustinian ideas to elaborate principles useful for the guidance of Merrimack’s academic community and the direction of its campus culture. The article concludes with Merrimack’s “Statement of Augustinian Values for Higher Education” as an expression of its distinctive mission in American higher education

Geomorphology and sedimentary framework of Penobscot Bay and adjacent inner continental shelf

Maine Geological Survey, Open-File Report 89-3. Seismic reflection profiles, side-scan sonar images, bottom sediment composition and texture. Offshore coverage from Rockland to Deer Isle.https://digitalmaine.com/mgs_publications/1080/thumbnail.jp

Catholic and Augustinian Heritage

Examines the place of Catholic colleges and universities in the wider community of higher education in the United States, and the distinctiveness of institutions like Merrimack College. The life of St. Augustine of Hippo, the history of the Augustinian intellectual school, and an overview of Order of St. Augustine (which founded Merrimack in 1947) are also examined.https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/mc_pubs/1000/thumbnail.jp

Depositional Setting and Quaternary Stratigraphy of the Sheepscot Estuary, Maine: A Preliminary Report

The Sheepscot River estuary in west-central coastal Maine is a typical example of a long linear embayment sculpted by glacial ice flowing nearly parallel to bedrock strike. After initial déglaciation 13,500 yrs. BP it was covered by glaciomarine mud, the Presumpscot Formation. Isostatic rebound resulted in a rapid sea-level fall and the channeling, winnowing, and consolidation of the Presumpscot Formation, until sea-level reached a lowstand about 65 m below present, 9500 yrs. BP. Subsequent sea-level rise caused flooding of the paleovalley of the Sheepscot, with reworking of the Pleistocene. High resolution seismic reflection profiling, vibracoring, and surficial mapping has allowed reconstruction of the Quaternary stratigraphy and the generation of an evolutionary model of sedimentary environments. At present the estuary exhibits three zones : an outer zone stripped of sediment, a middle zone undergoing erosion by tidal currents and slumping on bluffs and channel margins, and an inner zone of sediment accumulation on flats and in marshes, with redistribution of sediments by tidal currents. This three-fold division held throughout the Holocene transgression, with sediments being temporarily stored in the upper regions of the estuary, and reworked as sea-level rise continued.L'estuaire de la rivière Sheepscot, au centre-ouest de la région côtière du Maine, est un bel exemple de baie allongée, sculptée par un glacier qui s'écoulait parallèlement à la direction du substratum rocheux. Après le début de la déglaciation, vers 13 500 BP, l'estuaire a été recouvert d'une boue glaciomarine, la Formation de Presumpscot. Le relèvement isostatique a eu pour conséquence la baisse rapide du niveau marin ainsi que la formation de chenaux, le triage des sédiments et la consolidation de la Formation de Presumpscot, jusqu'à 9500 BP, alors que le niveau marin était à 65 m sous le niveau actuel. La hausse subséquente du niveau marin a entraîné l'ennoiement de la paléo-vallée du Sheepscot, puis remaniement des sédiments au Pléistocène. Les sondages sismiques par réflexion, les vibro-carottages et la cartographie des formations superficielles ont permis de reconstituer la stratigraphie du Quaternaire et de créer un modèle de l'évolution des milieux de sédimentation. Actuellement, l'estuaire se divise en trois zones: une zone externe, décapée; une zone centrale en voie d'érosion par les courants de marée et affectée par des glissements dans les falaises et sur les bords des chenaux; une zone interne d'accumulation sur les hauts-fonds et dans les marais et de redistribution des sédiments par les courants de marée. Cette division zonale s'est maintenue tout au long de la transgression survenue à l'Holocène, avec accumulation des sédiments en amont de l'estuaire et remaniement au fur et à mesure de la hausse du niveau marin.Das Sheepscot-FlufJmùndungsbecken an der zentralen Westkùste von Maine ist ein Typisches Beispiel einer langen linearen Bucht, die durch glaziales EisflieBen fast parallel zur Fels-Streichrichtung geformt wurde. Nach dem Beginn der Enteisung 13,500 Jahre v.u.Z. war das Mùndungsbecken mit glazialmarinem Schlamm bedeckt, der Presumpscot Formation. Die isostatische Hebung fùhrte zu einem schnellen Sinken des Meeresniveaus und zur Bildung von Kanâlen, Sortierung und Konsolidierung der Presumpscot Formation, bis das Meeresniveau 9500 Jahre v.u.Z. einen Niedrigstand von ungefàhr 65 m unter dem heutigen Niveau erreichte. Das anschliepende Ansteigen des Meeresniveaus fùhrte zur Ùberschwemmung des Paleo-Tals von Sheepscot und zur Neuorganisation der Sedimente im Pleistozàn. Mittels seismischer Reflexionsprofile, Vibra-Karottage und Kartographie der Oberflâchen konnte die Stratigraphie des Quaternàrs rekonstruiert werden und ein Modell der Entwicklung der Sediment-Umgebungen geschaffen werden. Gegenwàrtig hat das Mùndungsbecken drei Zonen: eine àupere, von Sedimenten befreite Zone; eine mittlere Zone, die wegen der Gezeiten-Strômungen und der Erdrutsche an den Steilufern und den Ufern der Kanàle der Erosion ausgesetzt ist; eine innere Zone von Sediment-AbIagerungen in den Niederungen und Mârschen mit Neuverteilung der Sedimente durch die Gezeiten-Strômungen. Dièse dreiteilige Aufteilung hielt sich wàhrend der ganzen Transgression im Holozàn, mit Sedimenten, die zeitweise in den oberen Regionen der Mùndungsbucht abgelagert wurden und die, als das Steigen des Meeresniveaus weiterging, neu organisiert wurden

Surficial geology of the Maine inner continental shelf; Mt. Desert Island to Jonesport, Maine

Maine Geological Survey, Geologic Map 96-12https://digitalmaine.com/mgs_maps/1217/thumbnail.jp

The seafloor revealed: The geology of the northwestern Gulf of Maine inner continental shelf

Maine Geological Survey, Open-File Report 96-6. Explains the surficial geology, physiography, and geologic history of the Maine coast. Methods and analysis detail how the seafloor was studied. Data were interpreted from side-scan sonar records, seismic reflection profiles, bottom samples, and submersible dives.https://digitalmaine.com/mgs_publications/1118/thumbnail.jp

Volume and quality of sand and gravel aggregate in the submerged paleodeltas of the Kennebec and Penobscot River mouth areas, Maine

Maine Geological Survey, Open-File Report 97-5. Reports on results of a geophysical and coring investigation of sand volumes at mouths of Kennebec and Penobscot Rivershttps://digitalmaine.com/mgs_publications/1117/thumbnail.jp

Supermassive Black-hole Demographics & Environments With Pulsar Timing Arrays

Precision timing of large arrays (>50) of millisecond pulsars will detect the nanohertz gravitational-wave emission from supermassive binary black holes within the next ~3-7 years. We review the scientific opportunities of these detections, the requirements for success, and the synergies with electromagnetic instruments operating in the 2020s.Comment: Submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey. One of 5 core white-papers authored by members of the NANOGrav Collaboration. 9 pages, 2 figure

Reservoir of Bacterial Exotoxin Genes in the Environment

Many bacteria produce secreted virulence factors called exotoxins. Exotoxins are often encoded by mobile genetic elements, including bacteriophage (phage). Phage can transfer genetic information to the bacteria they infect. When a phage transfers virulence genes to an avirulent bacterium, the bacterium can acquire the ability to cause disease. It is important to understand the role played by the phage that carry these genes in the evolution of pathogens. This is the first report of an environmental reservoir of a bacterial exotoxin gene in an atypical host. Screening bacterial isolates from the environment via PCR identified an isolate with a DNA sequence >95% identical to the Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A gene (sea). 16S DNA sequence comparisons and growth studies identified the environmental isolate as a psychrophilic Pseudomonas spp. The results indicate that the sea gene is present in an alternative bacterial host, providing the first evidence for an environmental pool of exotoxin genes in bacteria