Interactions of Flexible Aquatic Vegetation with Turbulent Flows in Rivers: field experiments and mathematical modeling with implications for transport and retention of organic matter and nutrients in fluvial ecosystems

水生植物是河流生态系统的重要组成部分。它们为许多水生物种提供栖息地和有机碳，并对水流、形态动力学和养分运输有直接影响。虽然最近在描述植物在实验室流动中的作用的理论方面取得了进展，但由于对自然溪流中灵活植物与湍流之间相互作用的知识有限，它们在河流中的应用仍然存在问题。本研究旨在通过实地实验研究，对植被-流动相互作用的机制进行量化和建模。研究将探讨非均匀（斑片）分布的柔性水生植被对水流结构的影响。此外，我们将量化植被马赛克中的颗粒物运输。现场实验将以实验室研究为指导，通过理论分析和数值模拟来完成。通过解析建模对研究结果进行推广，同时通过数值模拟的完成获得更广阔的参数空间和对流动物理更深入的认识。拟议的研究项目是跨学科和国际的，结合了IGB在进行复杂现场实验方面的专业知识和麻省理工学院在详细的实验室研究和理论分析方面的专业知识，以及UI在先进的数值模拟方法方面的专业知识。

Aquatic plants are an important component of fluvial ecosystems. They provide habitat and organic carbon for many aquatic species and also have direct effects on flow, morphodynamics, and nutrient transport. While there have been recent advances in theories that describe the effects of plants in laboratory flows, their application in rivers is still problematic due to limited knowledge of the mutual interactions between flexible plants and turbulence in natural streams. The proposed research is aimed at quantifying and modeling the mechanisms of vegetation-flow interactions by carrying out field experimental studies. The studies will explore the impact of flexible aquatic vegetation with a non-uniform (patchy) distribution on the flow structure. In addition we will quantify particulate matter transport in vegetation mosaics. The field experiments will be guided by laboratory study and accomplished with theoretical analysis and numerical modeling. The results of the study will be generalized by means of analytical modeling, while the wider parameter space and deeper understanding of flow physics will be gained through the completion of numerical simulations. The proposed research project is interdisciplinary and international, combining the expertise of IGB in carrying complex field experiments with that of MIT in elaborate laboratory studies and theoretical analysis, and with UI in advanced methods of numerical simulations.