Observing hydrocarbon particles and multiphase flows in submarine seeps - an integrated imaging system

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The PI requests funding to develop an integrated imaging system that would concurrently measure the characteristics of submarine seep bubbles/drops and the “structure” of the surrounding ocean water. This work would produce models for bubble fluxes and dispersal that can be useful to researchers working in many different domains. It would contribute to a better understanding of the influence of natural marine hydrocarbon seepage to the hydrosphere and atmosphere is urgently needed to evaluate its importance and contribution, especially these days when global warming and our changing environment is also highly debated in public. This work provides well-structured educational programs with clear methods of assessment. The instrument to be developed through the proposed project has a high potential to foster international and interdisciplinary collaboration, especially if implemented in a marine cabled observatory array like OOI. Given the fundamental challenges and the need of understanding the interaction between the natural seep and its agitated water flow, this proposal is dedicated to developing an innovative imaging system that would near-simultaneously measures the size of drops/bubbles, appearance of the bubble surface, morphological behavior, rise velocity, and discharge, and the three-dimensional velocity of water, turbulent statistics, vortices in the bubble wake, and the characteristics length and time scales in bubble-induced mixing. This new instrument would overcome some key deficiencies in imaging systems currently available to the research community studying submarine seeps.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.