Excellence in Research: The role of wave-current-ice interaction to a freshwater plume dynamics

卓越的研究：波-流-冰相互作用对淡水羽流动力学的作用

• 批准号: 2154154
• 负责人: Meng Xia
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland Eastern Shore
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-12-01 至 2025-11-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2154154&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Excellence; Research; role; wave; current

River plume dynamics are an important phenomenon to an estuarine circulation contributing to transport of estuarine materials and momentum balance, which are seasonally active in intertidal zones depending upon the Coriolis force, wind, tide, and freshwater discharges. For example, Lake Michigan (one of the Great Lakes) witnesses 10 km wide plume that resuspends materials extending over 100 km southern shore in every spring. However, factors responsible for the variability are not yet understood. The temperate climate of southern Lake Michigan is potentially influenced by the colder climate and ice covers in its northern basin. Southern basin is intervened by the denser population in the surroundings and prone to water pollution though the riverine channels. This proposed project aims to use a coupled hydrodynamics and ice numerical model developed for the Lake Michigan to investigate the: (a) effects of the wave-current-ice-plume interactions on coastal plume formation, (b) mechanism of plume interaction with the ice dynamics when ice cover is mobile, (c) projection of plume behavior/occurrence under climate scenarios in southern Lake Michigan. This project will help expand a pool of minority students in the field, by supporting the only physical oceanography numerical modeling laboratory within the HBCU community in the continental US and by providing students from underrepresented groups with opportunities to integrate research with their education through inquiry-based learning at an HBCU. The proposed research will advance understanding of the factors governing plume behavior in a large lake and how the lake current, waves, and ice are in turn influenced by the plumes, using numerical hydrodynamic-wave-ice modeling. Idealized numerical experiments will separate the factors in the complex system of plume interactions with currents, waves, and ice and reveal important factors that dominate the impacts on plume behavior. The future projection of the plume dynamics in southern Lake Michigan considering scenarios of climate change can forward the study to investigate nutrient distributions and productivity resolving one of the real-world challenges. Specifically, the proposed project will lead to the following intellectual merits: Advanced understanding of river/sediment plume interactions with currents, waves, and ice cover and the energy balance in these interactions; Future projections of plume dynamics out the mid-century under the climate change scenarios that will lead to understand the nutrients distribution and redefine the productivity zone; Future projections of current, wave, and ice environments in southern Lake Michigan out to the mid-century.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.

河流羽流动力学是河口环流的一个重要现象，有助于河口物质的运输和动量平衡，根据科里奥利力、风、潮汐和淡水排放，河羽流在潮间带季节性活跃。例如，每年春天，密歇根湖（五大湖之一）都会出现 10 公里宽的羽流，这些羽流会重新悬浮物质，延伸到南岸 100 多公里。然而，造成变异性的因素尚不清楚。密歇根湖南部的温带气候可能受到北部盆地寒冷气候和冰盖的影响。南部流域周边人口稠密，容易受到河道水污染。该项目旨在利用为密歇根湖开发的耦合流体动力学和冰数值模型来研究：（a）波流-冰羽相互作用对沿海羽流形成的影响，（b）冰盖移动时羽流与冰动力学相互作用的机制，（c）密歇根湖南部气候情景下羽流行为/发生的预测。该项目将通过支持美国大陆 HBCU 社区内唯一的物理海洋学数值模拟实验室，并为代表性不足群体的学生提供通过在 HBCU 进行探究式学习将研究与教育结合起来的机会，从而帮助扩大该领域的少数族裔学生群体。拟议的研究将利用数值流体动力学-波-冰模型，加深对控制大型湖泊羽流行为的因素以及湖流、波浪和冰如何受到羽流影响的理解。理想的数值实验将分离羽流与海流、波浪和冰相互作用的复杂系统中的因素，并揭示影响羽流行为的重要因素。考虑到气候变化情景，对密歇根湖南部羽流动态的未来预测可以推动研究养分分布和生产力的研究，解决现实世界的挑战之一。具体来说，拟议的项目将带来以下智力优势： 深入了解河流/沉积物羽流与水流、波浪和冰盖的相互作用以及这些相互作用中的能量平衡；在气候变化情景下对本世纪中叶羽流动态的未来预测，这将有助于了解养分分布并重新定义生产力区；密歇根湖南部的海流、波浪和冰环境到本世纪中叶的未来预测。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。