Collaborative Research: Sediment Transport and Storage in Tidal Floodplain Waterbodies

合作研究：潮汐漫滩水体中的沉积物输送和储存

• 批准号: 1148244
• 负责人: Jonathan Woodruff
• 金额: $ 20.57万
• 依托单位: University of Massachusetts Amherst
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-05-01 至 2016-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1148244&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Sediment; Transport; Storage

Oxbow lakes, off-river coves, quarries and other backwater environments are common along the floodplain of many tidal rivers, and provide the accommodation space necessary for significant amounts of fine-grained storage. This process-based study will quantitatively evaluate the manner in which these tidal floodplain waterbodies infill. The project is motivated by the important role these environments play in the storage of sediments and associated contaminants, and the broad significance of these understudied systems to local ecosystems and human populations. The overarching goals of this study are to: 1) quantify the dominant processes governing the timing and magnitude of transport and trapping within tidal floodplain waterbodies; 2) evaluate the role these environments play in the storage of a river?s fine grained sedimentary budget; and 3) assess how sediment and associated contaminant storage rates vary in response to land-use changes, industrial development, and tidal influence. The lower reach of the Connecticut River exemplifies a tidal river with prominent tidal floodplain waterbodies and will serve as our field site. Our research approach combines water column observations, numerical model simulations, and an extensive coring campaign, and is designed to encompass all of the primary spatial and temporal scales necessary to constrain fine-grained trapping and storage.Similar to low-lying coastlines around the world, the east coast of the U.S. is rich with tidal rivers and fringing tidal settings. This project will gain essential information on how sediment and associated heavy metal contaminants are distributed within these tidal environments. The study has additional significance in that our field site (the Connecticut River), is the largest river system in the northeast, one of only 14 American Heritage Rivers designated by the U.S. EPA, among only 26 U.S. wetlands recognized for international significance by the United Nations, and among 40 of the ?Last Great Places? in the Western Hemisphere designated by The Nature Conservancy. Educational outreach includes undergraduate presentations to high school classes, and the opportunity for high school seniors to work with the research team over a six-week internship in the summer. We will train one Ph.D. student with funding from this project.

牛轭湖、河外海湾、采石场和其他回水环境在许多潮汐河流的漫滩上很常见，并为大量细粒度存储提供了必要的住宿空间。这项基于过程的研究将定量评估这些潮汐漫滩水体的填充方式。该项目的动机是这些环境在沉积物和相关污染物的储存中发挥的重要作用，以及这些未被充分研究的系统对当地生态系统和人类的广泛意义。本研究的总体目标是： 1）量化控制潮汐漫滩水体内迁移和截留时间和规模的主导过程； 2) 评估这些环境在河流细粒沉积预算储存中所发挥的作用； 3) 评估沉积物和相关污染物储存率如何随土地利用变化、工业发展和潮汐影响而变化。康涅狄格河下游是一条潮汐河，具有突出的潮汐漫滩水体，将作为我们的现场。我们的研究方法结合了水柱观测、数值模型模拟和广泛的取芯活动，旨在涵盖限制细粒度捕获和储存所需的所有主要空间和时间尺度。与世界各地的低洼海岸线类似，美国东海岸拥有丰富的潮汐河流和边缘潮汐环境。 该项目将获得有关沉积物和相关重金属污染物如何在这些潮汐环境中分布的重要信息。这项研究具有额外的意义，因为我们的现场（康涅狄格河）是东北部最大的河流系统，是美国环保局指定的仅有的 14 条美国遗产河流之一，也是联合国认可的具有国际意义的美国仅有的 26 个湿地之一，也是 40 个“最后的伟大地方”之一。位于大自然保护协会指定的西半球。教育外展包括本科生在高中课堂上的演讲，以及高中生在夏季与研究团队一起进行为期六周实习的机会。我们将培养一名博士。获得该项目资助的学生。