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

OCE-PRF：海洋强迫条件和近海河流羽流导致的河口交换的年际变化

• 批准号: 1226406
• 负责人: Sarah Giddings
• 金额: $ 17万
• 依托单位: Giddings Sarah N
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1226406&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: OCE; PRF; Interannual; variability; estuarine

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.

在这个项目中，调查者将以目前的模拟工作为基础，探索河口羽流的影响以及对太平洋西北部海洋/河口连通性的影响。河口系统及其与海洋的连通性影响着重要的生物和生物地球化学过程，如营养物质交换、生产力、幼虫补充和酸化。剩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很大作用。许多远距离强迫机制改变了河口的条件，从而改变了河口的交换。这项研究的目的是调查一个较少研究的远程强迫机制：河口羽流的影响及其对海洋/河口连通性的影响。研究人员将检验以下假设：1.在风驱动的下沉和松弛事件期间，河口羽流的存在加强了仅由下降流引起的交换流量的减少和/或逆转。2.太平洋西北地区(PNW)河口交换流量的年际变化受河流羽流位置和体积的变化控制。3.羽流的存在降低了海洋/河口的连通性，同时增强了沿海的连通性。为了解决这些假说，调查者将在现有的模拟工作的基础上，理解Salish海(华盛顿州和加拿大内陆水域，包括普吉特海湾和佐治亚海峡)、格雷斯港、威拉帕湾和佐治亚州海峡的PNW河口的海洋-河口相互作用。蒂拉穆克湾和库斯湾。这项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包括来自水文模型的更多径流来源和嵌套子网格，以解决较小的河口。在有和没有哥伦比亚河流入的情况下，运行了十年的模型将被用来解决上述假设。虽然人们对了解PNW河口特别感兴趣，但这项工作更广泛地涉及到更好地了解上升流海岸的河口以及受离岸河流羽流影响的河口。更广泛的影响包括通过既定的外联机制为公众和学生提供教育机会。调查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，使用模型输出可视化Salish海内的循环和水特性，强调与海洋的连接。展览将使用触摸屏界面来运行具有定向学习目标的互动程序，并包含探索性模式。海洋科学教育卓越中心(COSEE)和海洋调查项目(OIP)已主动提出担任主办组织。COSEE将帮助建立与其他外展计划和非正式科学学习中心的联系，以确定测试初始展品和可视化工具的最佳地点，并就为预计将与展品互动的广大观众设定适当的学习目标提供指导。OIP还将提供关于学习目标的指导，并通过提供访问其基于船只的扩展计划和作为测试场所的教师培训活动来帮助评估工具。该项目得到美国国家科学基金会海洋科学博士后研究奖学金(OCE PRF)计划的支持，旨在支持早期职业科学家的创新研究，并增加美国海洋科学劳动力和研究社区的多样性。在海洋科学和可持续发展基金的支持下，该项目将使有前途的早期职业研究人员能够从事与海洋科学有关的独立研究事业，并扩大未被充分代表的群体在海洋科学领域的参与。