Faculty - Aria Amirbahman
Aria
Amirbahman, Ph.D., P.E.
Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
319A Boardman Hall
University of Maine
Orono, Maine 04469-5711
Phone: (207) 581-1277
Fax: (207) 581-3888
Email:
Aria@umit.maine.edu
Education:
Ph.D. - Civil & Environmental Engineering University of
California Irvine, 1994.
M.S. - Civil Engineering
San Jose University, 1989.
B.S. - Civil Engineering
San Jose University, 1984.
Courses:
CIE 231 Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering
CIE 430 Water Treatment
CIE 431 Pollutant Fate and Transport
CIE 437 Environmental Chemistry
CIE 533 Aquatic Environmental Chemistry
CIE 598 Mercury Biogeochemistry Seminar
CIE 631 Process Dynamics in Environmental Systems
CIE 634 Environmental Engineering Design Lab
Research Interest:
Aria’s areas of research interest are
aquatic chemistry and contaminant transport. Prior to coming to
UMaine in fall 1997, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at
the Swiss Federal Institute of Environmental Science and
Technology (EAWAG). Aria’s research includes the study of
speciation and transport of metals (e.g., mercury, iron,
aluminum, arsenic, copper and cadmium) and nutrients (phosphorus
and nitrogen), and their interactions with mineral surfaces and
natural organic matter in natural and engineered systems.
Recent focus has been on fate and transport of mercury in
estuarine sediments, and internal phosphorus loading in northern
lakes. Aria is a cooperating faculty with the School of
Policy and International Affairs, and the Center for Research on
Sustainable Forests at UMaine. He has
been a visiting professor at the Division of Soil
Protection, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITÖ), Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zürich) (5/98-9/98), and at
the Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo
Park, CA, USA (1/04-9/04).
Aria has five years of professional experience as an
environmental and water resources engineer in the public and
private sectors. He is a registered Professional Engineer in
the State of California. In addition to his teaching and
research duties, Aria has performed consulting on environmental
issues for public agencies and private companies.
Current Research:
“Using reactive thin-film membranes to determine mercury
mobility and transformation in the Penobscot River estuary
sediment, Maine”
“Mercury
dynamics in estuarine sediments: Biogeochemical controls on
bioavailability and bioaccumulation along a chemical gradient”
“A 31P
NMR investigation of phosphorus speciation in sediments of two
shallow lakes in Maine, USA”
“Abiotic
controls on the trophic status of oligotrophic surface waters”
“Mechanisms
governing changing metal and phosphorus dynamics in an
experimentally acidified watershed in Maine”
Selected Publications:
Merritt K.A., and A. Amirbahman (2008), “Cycling of
Methylmercury in Estuarine Sediment Porewaters (Penobscot River
Estuary, Maine, USA).” Limnology and Oceanography. In
press.
Ohno T., A.
Amirbahman, and R. Bro (2008), “Parallel Factor Analysis of
Excitation-Emission Matrix Fluorescence Spectra of Water-Soluble
Organic Matter as Basis for the Determination of Conditional
Metal Binding Parameters.” Environmental Science & Technology,
42: 186-192.
Merritt K.A.,
and A. Amirbahman (2007), “Mercury Dynamics in Sulfide-Rich
Sediments: Geochemical Controls on Contaminant Storage Potential
of the Penobscot River Estuary, Maine, USA.” Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta, 71: 929-941.
Lake B.A., K.M.
Coolidge, S.A. Norton, and A. Amirbahman (2007), “Factors
Contributing to the Internal Loading of Phosphorus from Anoxic
Sediments in Six Maine, USA, Lakes.” Science of the Total
Environment, 373: 534-541.
Bank M.S., J.
Crocker, B. Connery and A. Amirbahman (2007), “Mercury
Bioaccumulation in Green Frog and Bullfrog Tadpoles from
Acadia National Park, Maine, USA.”
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 26: 37-44.
Merritt K.A.,
and A. Amirbahman (2007), “Mercury Mobilization in Estuarine
Sediment Porewaters: A Diffusive Gel Gradient Study.”
Environmental Science & Technology, 41: 717-722.
Amirbahman A.,
D.B. Kent, G.P. Curtis, and J.A. Davis (2006), “Kinetics of
Sorption and Abiotic Oxidation of Arsenic(III) by Aquifer
Materials.” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 70: 533-547.
Sheehan K.D.,
I.J. Fernandez, J.S. Kahl, and A. Amirbahman (2006), “Litterfall
Mercury in Two Forested Watersheds at Acadia National Park,
Maine, USA.” Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 170: 249-265.
Kopáček J., J. Borovec, J. Hejzlar, K.-U. Ulrich, S.A. Norton,
and A. Amirbahman (2005), “Aluminum control of Phosphorus
Sorption in Lake Sediments.” Environmental Science &
Technology, 39: 8784-8789.
Liu R., B.
Goodell, J. Jellison, and A. Amirbahman (2005), “Electrochemical
Study of 2,3-Dihydroxybenzoic Acid and its Interaction with
Cu(II) and H2O2 in Aqueous Solutions:
Implications for Wood Decay.” Environmental Science &
Technology, 39: 175-180.
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