Collaborative research: A Study of Wave-Enhanced Nutrient Uptake by Vegetated Canopies in Shallow Coastal Systems

我们目前关于水流对底栖系统中化学交换率的影响的知识主要是基于在静水或单向流中进行的研究。然而，波浪驱动的振荡流最近被证明在控制珊瑚礁等栖息地的化学交换率方面发挥着重要作用。 海草是许多浅水生态系统的一个重要组成部分，由于它们具有灵活性，可以填充很大一部分水深，因此构成了一个独特的问题。在这个项目中，来自斯坦福大学和南佛罗里达大学的研究人员将首次系统地研究在一系列不同的波浪条件和郁闭度下，天然林冠内振荡流引起的速度结构。他们将对在自然和受控水流条件下的海龟鳖冠层内的平均和湍流速度结构进行详细分析，以确定冠层形态参数（例如冠层密度）对水流结构的影响。此外，这将是第一项研究，详细调查耦合的测量流结构，同时测量营养吸收率的整个冠层和冠层内的生物体在振荡流条件下原位。他们将流场，光照水平，物理冠层结构和社区组成整合到一个植被相关型预测模型中，用于单个社区组件以及最终整个冠层形成社区的营养吸收。他们的研究结果也将对受浅海岸系统小尺度流体动力学影响的其他生物和化学过程产生影响。更广泛的影响之一是继续向历史上的黑人大学的学生进行宣传，这将增加代表性不足的少数群体对海洋学的接触，并增加他们从事学术科学事业的可能性。其他教育推广计划包括制作三个电视节目，公共宣传海报和高中物理课程。此外，该研究将资助一名博士后研究员和两名研究生，他们将在两个实验室进行交叉培训。

Our current state of knowledge on the effects of water flow on chemical exchange rates in benthic systems is primarily based on research conducted in still water or in unidirectional flow. However wave-driven oscillatory flow has recently been shown to play a major role in controlling chemical exchange rates in habitats such as coral reefs. Seagrasses, an important component of many shallow water ecosystems, pose a unique problem because they are flexible and can fill a significant portion of the water depth. In this project, researchers from Stanford University and University of South Florida will conduct the first systematic study of the velocity structure induced by oscillatory flow within natural canopies under a range of different wave conditions and canopy densities. They will conduct a detailed analysis of the mean and turbulent velocity structure within a Thalassia testudinum canopy under natural and controlled flow conditions to determine the effects of canopy morphological parameters (e.g. canopy density) on the flow structure. Additionally, this will be the first study to investigate in detail the coupling of the measured flow structure with simultaneous measurements of nutrient uptake rates by the entire canopy and organisms within the canopy under oscillatory flow conditions in situ. They will integrate flow field, light levels, physical canopy structure and community composition into a statistical-correlation type predictive model for nutrient uptake by individual community components, and ultimately entire canopy-forming communities. Their results will also have implications for other biological and chemical processes affected by small-scale hydrodynamics in shallow coastal systems. Among the broader impacts is continued outreach to students at a Historically Black University that will increase the exposure of under-represented minorities to oceanography and increase the likelihood that they will pursue a career in academic science. Additional educational outreach programs include the production of three television programs, public outreach posters, and a curriculum for high school physics. In addition, the research will fund a post-doctoral fellow and two graduate students who will be cross-trained in the two laboratories.