North Dartmouth, MA- The University of New Hampshire's Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET) has awarded $400,000 to UMass Dartmouth Professor Erin Bromage and the biologist's collaborators from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VMS) to develop an early warning system for oil spills..

"This particular grant focuses on detecting oil spills in near real-time, which is important in many maritime environments where shipping traffic is high or where oil refining and storage occurs,'' Dr. Bromage said. "While the proving ground for this technology is the Chesapeake Bay, the oil detection research could have an important impact in Buzzards Bay and New Bedford Harbor where there is a great deal of shipping traffic. If this system was deployed locally we could have real-time detection of oil spills, resulting in early warning, rapid response, and mitigation of environmental damage."

"The combined pressures of climate change and human activity have made the management of our coastal resources increasingly complex and difficult," says Richard Langan, CICEET's UNH co-director. "This project was selected for its potential to transform research into a practical, accessible tool that coastal resource managers need to support their communities and protect the environment."

Dr. Bromage's work focuses on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), a pervasive pollutant in marine sediments. Not all PAHs, however, are created equal. Those that come from naturally occurring processes are less toxic than PAHs in unburned petroleum products or those that result from the combustion of fossil fuels. Identifying the sources of PAHs in sediments, therefore, is necessary to understanding the pollution threat and to developing an effective plan to manage it.

With support from CICEET, the team of immunologists and environmental chemists are developing a biosensor that can identify when the PAHs resulted from a release of petroleum into the environments. Just as the human body uses specific antibodies to fight a particular germ, this biosensor will use antibodies that only react to PAHs from specific sources. The goal is a field-ready instrument that allows for real-time monitoring.

Dr. Bromage will be assisted by Dr. Stephen Kaattari and Michael Unger, both of VMS. They will work closely with Maryland's Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) at Goodwin Island. This work began in the fall of 2007.

The UMass Dartmouth grant is one of six award to U.S. universities totaling $1.9 million by CICEET , a partnership of UNH and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) established in 1997 with the support of U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, (R-NH).

Research teams based at the following institutions also received awards:

Louisiana State University to improve wetland restoration techniques

Texas A&M University to develop a tool to measure the  toxicity of  chemical pollution in sediments

University of Connecticut to improve monitoring of atmospheric mercury pollution

Villanova University to study the effectiveness of low impact development (LID) storm water management systems in protecting water resources

University of Illinois to develop a technique to reduce phosphorus pollution from septic systems

Each project focuses on a priority environmental challenge with a direct impact on the well-being of those who live in coastal communities. For more information about all of these projects, visit CICEET online: http://ciceet.unh.edu/stats/etdd_2007.html.

CICEET operates through an annual grant from NOAA's Office of Coastal Resource Management. Since 1997, it has invested in more than 160 coastal technology projects. The CICEET toolkit includes technology and know-how to detect pollution, recover healthy habitats, and prevent the future impacts of pollution.

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