OCE-PRF: Interannual variability in estuarine exchange due to oceanic forcing conditions and offshore river plumes

在该项目中，研究人员将在当前的建模工作的基础上，探索河口河流羽流的影响以及对太平洋西北地区海洋/河口连通性的影响。河口系统及其与海洋的连通性影响重要的生物和生物地球化学过程，例如养分交换、生产力、幼虫招募和酸化。残余环流控制着海洋和河口之间的交换，因此在影响河口内和沿海的这些重要过程中发挥着重要作用。许多远程强迫机制改变河口的条件，从而改变河口交换。本研究的目的是调查一种研究较少的远程强迫机制：河口羽流的影响以及对海洋/河口连通性的影响。调查员将测试以下假设： 1. 在风驱动的下降流和弛豫事件期间，河口处存在河流羽流，会加强仅由下降流引起的交换流的减少和/或逆转 2. 太平洋西北地区 (PNW) 河口交换流的年际变化受河流羽流位置和体积变化的影响 3. 羽流的存在会降低海洋/河口的连通性，同时增强沿海连通性根据假设，研究人员将在当前的建模工作的基础上，了解萨利什海（华盛顿内陆和加拿大水域，包括普吉特湾和乔治亚海峡）、格雷斯港、威拉帕湾、蒂拉穆克湾和库斯湾的西北太平洋河口的海洋与河口相互作用。该研究将利用已经开发的区域建模系统和广泛的观测数据集。进一步的模型开发将纳入来自水文模型的额外径流源和嵌套子网格，以解决较小的河口问题。模型运行了十多年，无论是否有哥伦比亚河流入，都将用于解决上述假设。尽管人们对了解 PNW 河口特别感兴趣，但这项工作更广泛地涉及更好地了解沿上升流海岸的河口以及受近海河流羽流影响的河口。更广泛的影响包括通过既定的外展机制为公众和学生提供教育机会。研究人员将在现有可视化工具的基础上开发交互式博物馆展览和课堂工具，该工具使用模型输出来可视化萨利希海内的环流和水特性，强调与海洋的连通性。该展览将使用触摸屏界面来运行具有定向学习目标的交互式程序，并包含探索模式。海洋科学教育卓越中心 (COSEE) 和海洋探究项目 (OIP) 已提出担任主办组织。 COSEE 将帮助与其他外展计划和非正式科学学习中心建立联系，以确定测试初始展览和可视化工具的最佳位置，并为设定适合预期与展览互动的广大观众的学习目标提供指导。 OIP 还将提供学习目标指导，并通过提供船基外展计划和作为测试场地的教师培训活动来帮助评估工具。 该项目得到了 NSF 海洋科学博士后研究奖学金 (OCE PRF) 计划的支持，其目标是支持早期职业科学家的新颖研究，并增加美国海洋科学劳动力和研究界的多样性。在 OCE-PRF 的支持下，该项目将使有前途的早期职业研究人员能够在与海洋科学相关的独立研究生涯中建立自己的地位，并扩大海洋科学领域代表性不足群体的参与。

In this project, the investigator will build upon current modeling efforts to explore the influence of river plumes at the estuary mouth and implications for ocean/estuary connectivity in the Pacific Northwest.Estuarine systems and their connectivity to the ocean influence important biological and biogeochemical processes such as nutrient exchange, productivity, larval recruitment, and acidification. Residual circulation governs the exchange between the ocean and the estuary and thus plays a large role in influencing these important processes within estuaries and along the coast. Many remote forcing mechanisms alter conditions at the estuary mouth and thus alter estuarine exchange. The purpose of this study is to investigate a less studied remote forcing mechanism: the influence of a plume at the estuary mouth and the implications for ocean/estuary connectivity. The investigator will test the following hypotheses: 1. The presence of a river plume at the estuary mouth during wind-driven downwelling and relaxation events strengthens the decrease and/or reversal of exchange flow due to downwelling alone 2. Interannual variability in estuarine exchange flow in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) are governed by variations in river plume location and volume 3. Plume presence decreases ocean/estuarine connectivity while enhancing along-coast connectivity To address these hypotheses, the investigator will build upon current modeling efforts to understand ocean-estuary interactions in the PNW estuaries of the Salish Sea (the inland Washington and Canadian waters including Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia), Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, Tillamook Bay and Coos Bay. The research will take advantage of an already developed regional modeling system and extensive observational datasets. Further model development will incorporate additional runoff sources from a hydrologic model and nested sub-grids to resolve smaller estuaries. Model runs over a decade both with and without the Columbia River inflow will be used to address the above hypotheses. Although there is a particular interest in understanding PNW estuaries, this work relates more broadly to better understanding of estuaries along upwelling coasts as well as estuaries influenced by offshore river plumes. The broader impacts include educational opportunities for the public and students through established outreach mechanisms. The investigator will build upon existing visualization tools to develop an interactive museum exhibit and classroom tool that uses the model output to visualize circulation and water properties within the Salish Sea emphasizing the connectivity with the ocean. The exhibit will use a touchscreen interface to run an interactive program with directed learning objectives and contain an exploratory mode. Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) and Ocean Inquiry Project (OIP) have offered to act as host organizations. COSEE will help establish connections with other outreach programs and informal science learning centers to determine the best location for testing initial exhibits and visualization tools as well as provide guidance on setting learning objectives appropriate for the broad audience expected to interact with the exhibit. OIP will also provide guidance on learning objectives and help evaluate the tools by providing access to their boat-based outreach program and in teacher training activities as test venues. This project is supported under the NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (OCE PRF) program, with goals to support novel research by early career scientists and increase the diversity of the U.S. ocean sciences workforce and research community. With OCE-PRF support, this project will enable a promising early career researcher to establish themselves in an independent research career related to ocean sciences and broaden participation of under-represented groups in the ocean sciences.