NSF Org:	OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences
Recipient:	UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
Initial Amendment Date:	July 22, 2009
Latest Amendment Date:	July 22, 2009
Award Number:	0928496
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Bilal U. Haq OCE  Division Of Ocean Sciences GEO  Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date:	September 1, 2009
End Date:	February 28, 2013 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$377,740.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$377,740.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2009 = $377,740.00
ARRA Amount:	$377,740.00
History of Investigator:	Christopher Sommerfield (Principal Investigator) cs@udel.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of Delaware 550 S COLLEGE AVE NEWARK DE  US  19713-1324 (302)831-2136
Sponsor Congressional District:	00
Primary Place of Performance:	University of Delaware 550 S COLLEGE AVE NEWARK DE  US  19713-1324
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	00
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	T72NHKM259N3
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY, Marine Geology and Geophysics
Primary Program Source:	01R00910DB RRA RECOVERY ACT
Program Reference Code(s):	0000, 1620, 6890, 9150, OTHR
Program Element Code(s):	161000, 162000
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.050

ABSTRACT

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-2).

The study will promote understanding of sediment dispersal in estuaries through an investigation of the Delaware River estuary. Coordinated studies of water-column sediment flux, deposition, and resuspension are planned and the PIs hope to establish the sediment trapping efficiency of the estuary as a function of external forcings, including river discharge, tides and wind. An array of instrumented moorings will be deployed to obtain continuous time-series records of flow and suspended-sediment concentration, and a suite of naturally occurring and anthropogenic radionuclides measured seasonally. Specific objectives are: 1) to identify the sources, transport pathways, and residence times of fine sediment based on distributions of 7Be, 210Pb, and 137Cs; 2) to asses the role of channel morphology on along- and across-estuary patterns of sediment transport and deposition using in-situ observations of sediment flux; and 3) to elucidate the mechanisms of sediment flux and trapping responsible for maintaining the estuary turbidity maximum, and which transfer sediment from the axial channel to subtidal flats.

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