Award Abstract # 1925821
Collaborative Research: Exploring the linkages between Sea-Level Change, Sediment Transport and Geomorphology on Coastal Freshwater Water Sequestration

NSF Org: EAR
Division Of Earth Sciences
Recipient: THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Initial Amendment Date: July 10, 2019
Latest Amendment Date: July 13, 2023
Award Number: 1925821
Award Instrument: Continuing Grant
Program Manager: Richard Yuretich
ryuretic@nsf.gov
 (703)292-4744
EAR
 Division Of Earth Sciences
GEO
 Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date: July 15, 2019
End Date: June 30, 2025 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $1,226,469.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $1,226,469.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2019 = $826,570.00
FY 2021 = $286,040.00

FY 2022 = $113,859.00
History of Investigator:
  • Michael Steckler (Principal Investigator)
    steckler@ldeo.columbia.edu
  • Celine Grall (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Kerry Key (Former Principal Investigator)
  • Michael Steckler (Former Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Columbia University
615 W 131ST ST
NEW YORK
NY  US  10027-7922
(212)854-6851
Sponsor Congressional District: 13
Primary Place of Performance: Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Obs.
61 Route 9W
Palisades
NY  US  10964-8000
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
17
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): F4N1QNPB95M4
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): FRES-Frontier Rsrch Earth Sci
Primary Program Source: 01001920DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
01002122DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT

01002223DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1574, 1579, 9189
Program Element Code(s): 111Y00
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.050

ABSTRACT

The growth of large coastal cities is putting increasing demand on supplies of potable water as traditional sources are depleted. Increased withdrawal of local groundwater has led to more widespread occurrences of salt-water intrusion and new surface-water supplies are becoming politically and economically difficult to access. As sea level rose and fell over the past million years, the shoreline moved landward and seaward, shifting the boundary between fresh water and salt water with the result that reservoirs of freshwater can often be found offshore. This water could provide a significant reserve for coastal areas if other sources are unavailable. This project will identify the extent of freshwater buried in marine sediments in the continental shelf of New Jersey and in the offshore delta region of Bangladesh. The research will use data from geophysical surveys, sediment deposition, groundwater flow, and solute transport, to develop mathematical models that simulate the accumulation of freshwater in these submarine deposits as sea level rose. The project will also construct simulations of groundwater production from these areas to assess the feasibility of accessing the offshore reservoirs within the next few decades.

The project will assess how sequestration of onshore saltwater and offshore freshwater in coastal environments is influenced by interactions between geomorphic, sedimentological, geodynamic, and hydrologic processes over geologic time scales of one million years or more. The research will develop a new model using the Earth-science community code, Landlab, and apply the code at two field sites with vastly different local sea-level, climate, tectonic and sediment transport regimes: New Jersey and Bangladesh. Calculated sediment type and salinity patterns from these models will be compared to new and existing images from seismic and electromagnetic (EM) data, as well as to available well samples measuring salinity and age of the water. An EM survey will be carried out in Bangladesh to determine the distribution of deep onshore saltwater and freshwater in this active deltaic environment. Along with recently collected EM images from offshore New Jersey, these data will be used to test the Landlab model to elucidate the factors controlling the emplacement of fresh and saline groundwater in coastal regions.

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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