Collaborative Research: Can Human-Induced Turbidity Currents Enable Sustainability of Freshwater Reservoirs?

合作研究：人为引起的浊流能否实现淡水水库的可持续性？

• 批准号: 2317834
• 负责人: Admin Husic
• 金额: $ 35万
• 依托单位: University of Kansas Center for Research Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2317834&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Human; Induced; Turbidity

Water reservoirs provide many societal services in the United States and worldwide including flood control and sources of hydroelectric power, drinking water, and irrigation for agriculture and farming. Despite their vital roles, reservoirs are gradually being filled with sediments as land use and climate change exacerbate soil erosion and sediment transport and deposition in natural and engineered surface water systems. Few suitable sites for new dam construction exist in the United States thereby emphasizing the need for cost-effective management of existing reservoirs. In 2024, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the State of Kansas are scheduled to pilot test a novel water-injection dredging (WID) process (an untested but potentially transformative approach) in a federal reservoir in the State of Kansas with the aim of inducing turbidity currents and exporting trapped reservoir sediments to downstream waterways, which could prove crucial for addressing the global concern of reservoir sedimentation and its impact on water security. However, key questions remain regarding the ability of WID to restore reservoir sediment storage capacity, its environmental implications to in-lake water quality, and its downstream effects to channel morphology and aquatic ecosystems. To address these knowledge gaps, the Principal Investigators (PIs) of this project propose to leverage the USACE-Kansas WID field test to collect and analyze sediments, nutrients, and aquatic species count data with the goal of generating fundamental scientific and engineering knowledge on the transport efficacy, mechanisms, and environmental responses following the implementation of WID process in a water reservoir. If WID is shown to be viable, with minimal impact on downstream river ecosystems, the successful completion of this project will benefit society through the generation of new data and fundamental knowledge that could be used in reservoirs around the globe, transforming sediment management, and reducing costs associated with existing dredging techniques. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including the mentoring of one undergraduate and one graduate student at the University of Kansas and two undergraduate students and one graduate student at Kansas State University.Existing reservoir sediment management techniques have limited effectiveness because they (1) do not restore natural downstream sediment continuity, (2) require transport, storage, and disposal of dredged materials, and (3) are costly to implement. The basic premise of the water-injection dredging (WID) process is to spray a jet of fluid into the bed of a reservoir, entrain sediments into the overlying water, and initiate a density current (akin to an underwater avalanche) to mobilize stored bed sediments toward the reservoir outlet. While WID has successfully been applied to ports and rivers, it has yet to be tested in a water reservoir thereby raising critical questions regarding its potential efficacy and environmental impact. This project will address these knowledge gaps. The specific objectives of the research are to 1) evaluate the physical mechanisms by which human-induced turbidity currents propagate in reservoirs, using high-frequency turbidity sensing data and computational fluid dynamics modeling; 2) evaluate shifts in reservoir water quality by monitoring thermal stratification and redox conditions using in-situ physicochemical sensors and laboratory experiments before, during, and after the WID field test; 3) assess channel and floodplain accretion rates before, during, and after the WID field test; and 4) continuously assess the response of fish and macroinvertebrate communities to sediment releases and the induced biological, chemical, and physical changes in water quality and habitats throughout the WID demonstration project. The successful completion of this research could transform how reservoirs are managed, potentially extending the usable lifetime of large water storage infrastructure across the globe. To implement the educational and training goals of this project, the Principal Investigators (PIs) will collaborate with the University of Kansas (KU) Self Engineering Leadership Fellows (SELF) program to develop and deliver a workshop for college students to conduct hands-on research with large environmental datasets and develop science communication skills, culminating in a presentation to the State of Kansas and Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, the PIs plan to integrate the findings from this research into relevant course modules and outreach activities at KU and Kansas State University.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.

水库在美国和世界范围内提供许多社会服务，包括洪水控制和水力发电，饮用水和农业灌溉。尽管水库发挥着重要作用，但随着土地利用和气候变化加剧自然和人工地表水系统中的土壤侵蚀、沉积物迁移和沉积，水库正逐渐被沉积物填满。在美国，几乎没有合适的地点建造新的水坝，因此强调了对现有水库进行成本效益管理的必要性。2024年，美国陆军工程兵团（USACE）和堪萨斯州计划对一种新型注水疏浚（WID）工艺进行试点测试（一种未经测试但具有潜在变革性的方法）在堪萨斯州的一个联邦水库中进行，目的是诱导浊流并将截留的水库沉积物输出到下游水道，这对解决全球关注的水库沉积及其对水安全的影响至关重要。然而，关键的问题仍然是关于WID恢复水库沉积物存储能力，其对湖泊水质的环境影响，以及其对河道形态和水生生态系统的下游影响的能力。为了解决这些知识差距，本项目的主要研究者（PI）建议利用USACE-Kansas WID现场测试来收集和分析沉积物，营养物质和水生物种计数数据，目标是在水库中实施WID过程后产生关于运输效率，机制和环境响应的基础科学和工程知识。如果WID被证明是可行的，对下游河流生态系统的影响最小，该项目的成功完成将通过产生可用于地球仪水库的新数据和基础知识，改变沉积物管理，降低与现有疏浚技术相关的成本，造福社会。通过学生教育和培训，包括指导堪萨斯大学的一名本科生和一名研究生以及堪萨斯州立大学的两名本科生和一名研究生，将为社会带来额外的好处。现有的水库沉积物管理技术的有效性有限，因为它们（1）不能恢复天然下游沉积物的连续性，（2）需要运输、储存，以及疏浚物的处置，以及（3）实施成本高。注水疏浚（WID）过程的基本前提是将流体喷射到水库的河床中，将沉积物夹带到上覆水中，并启动密度流（类似于水下雪崩）以将储存的河床沉积物向水库出口移动。虽然妇女参与发展已成功地应用于港口和河流，但尚未在水库中进行试验，因此，对其潜在的功效和环境影响提出了严重的问题。该项目将解决这些知识差距。研究的具体目标是：1）利用高频浊度传感数据和计算流体动力学模型评估人类引起的浊流在水库中传播的物理机制; 2）通过在WID现场试验之前、期间和之后使用现场物理化学传感器和实验室实验监测热分层和氧化还原条件来评估水库水质的变化; 3）在WID现场试验之前、期间和之后评估河道和洪泛区的淤积率;以及4）在整个WID示范项目中，持续评估鱼类和大型无脊椎动物群落对沉积物释放的反应以及引起的水质和栖息地的生物、化学和物理变化。这项研究的成功完成可能会改变水库的管理方式，有可能延长地球仪大型蓄水基础设施的使用寿命。为了实现该项目的教育和培训目标，主要研究者（PI）将与堪萨斯大学（KU）自我工程领导研究员（SELF）计划合作，为大学生开发和提供一个研讨会，用大型环境数据集进行实践研究，并培养科学沟通技能，最终向堪萨斯州和陆军工程兵团做演讲。此外，PI计划将这项研究的结果整合到KU和堪萨斯州立大学的相关课程模块和外展活动中。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。