| NSF Org: |
OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | March 22, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | March 22, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1753158 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Baris Uz
bmuz@nsf.gov (703)292-4557 OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | August 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $513,296.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $513,296.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
259 BLVD ALFONSO VALDES MAYAGUEZ PR US 00680-6475 (787)831-2065 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Mayaguez PR US 00681-9000 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY, EDUCATION/HUMAN RESOURCES,OCE, EPSCoR Co-Funding |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
This project provides an integrated approach to advance nearshore processes research and education on the island of Puerto Rico. It focuses on advancing our understanding of exchange processes of water and other constituents between the seabed and the overlying water under the action of waves. A systematic progression of experiments on flat, rippled and transitioning rippled bed regimes will be carried out using non-invasive laser-based techniques to obtain detailed observations of concentration and velocity fields with unprecedented resolution. A new collaboration with a numerical modeling group will inform the experiments, provide valuable data for cross-validation, and extend the research into more complex physics. The research will provide parameterizations describing ecological, biogeochemical and microbiological processes in the coastal benthic boundary layer and it will advance women and minorities in the fields of ocean sciences and engineering. The research program is integrated into a robust education plan through a variety of efforts, including the creation of a new course and enhancement of existing courses with unprecedented flow visualization and quantification techniques; the development of interactive modules on beach evolution and contamination; and the inception of a Graduate Fellowship Workshop series to coach students during the fellowship application process. This project will provide essential resources to advance the next generation of ocean scientists and engineers in Puerto Rico, and provide valuable role models for women and minorities.
This project examines the combined effect of complex roughness scales and spatially varying mass sources on scalar transport across the sediment-water interface under oscillating wave motion. It builds upon previous findings that demonstrate a high variability of momentum fluxes across the ripple wavelengths, and explores the effect of preferential organization of solutes on the overall mass exchange. Through a combination of detailed laboratory experiments (using PIV and PLIF), robust physics-based techniques for data reduction, and a new numerical modeling collaboration, this project will provide fundamental knowledge on the complex intra-ripple mixing structure resulting from a combination of unsteady hydrodynamic forcing, bedform-induced coherent motions, and nonuniform mass sources. Grounded on the PI's expertise in turbulent oscillatory flow over mobile rippled beds, this study has the potential to profoundly impact the way current deterministic models parameterize mass transport in coastal benthic boundary layers including contaminants, nutrients, and biogeochemical processes. The proposed research program will be integrated into a strong educational plan through the development of new and enhanced courses, outreach activities, and fellowship writing workshops.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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