MRI Consortium: Development of CCPflex – A multi-function, modular platform for next-generation Conductivity Concentration Profilers

该奖项将开发下一代电导率浓度剖面仪CCPflex，用于监测沿海、海洋和海洋环境中地球表面和表面动态的变化。这些仪器将存放在北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿大学和特拉华大学的沿海工程设施中，研究界可以通过在实地和(或)实验室应用中使用的经过验证的共享使用模式获得这些设备。设计、测试和制造将通过与定制海洋仪器和软件开发领域的行业领先者建立伙伴关系来执行。将利用最先进的印刷电路板制造技术来生产小型化测量探头。该项目将使一系列主题的变革性新研究成为可能，包括沿海风暴影响、沿海含水层和环境监测。从使用CCPflex系统进行的研究中获得的知识将导致改进沿海洪水预测地图，在沿海风暴之前更好地告知疏散命令，并帮助发展有弹性的沿海社区。这个项目将通过本科生的参与培养下一代应用工程师和科学家，在联合国大学的开发过程中--一个以本科生为主的机构。项目小组将积极招收STEM领域历史上代表性不足的群体的学生。与CCPflex相关的单元将被纳入研究人员的STEM高中推广项目--“在教室里造波”，以帮助用户了解沉积物在海滩上是如何流动的。CCPflex系统使用导电性来直接测量流体-沉积物混合物的孔隙度剖面，这与沉积物浓度剖面成反比。CCPflex将能够量化高度集中的近床区域的沿海沉积物输送过程，众所周知，这对沿海地区的整体地貌变化有很大贡献。突破性的模块化“即插即用”设计为终端用户提供了广泛的部署和采样配置，大大拓宽了应用范围。设计标准是由不同的沿海科学家群体的需求驱动的。突破性的探测器设计将包括同步界面跟踪能力，以扩大在海洋表面动力学和地下水研究中的应用。高达50赫兹、垂直分辨率高达50赫兹的瞬时近床含沙量剖面将有助于理解湍流(例如，在破碎波下)如何促进沙质海滩的整体泥沙输运。CCPflex系统将适用于从颗粒级泥沙传输小型实验室研究到高能量野外活动(例如飓风登陆)的各种条件。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award will develop next-generation Conductivity Concentration Profiler, CCPflex, systems for monitoring changes in the Earth's surface and surface dynamics in coastal, ocean, and marine settings. The instruments will be housed in the coastal engineering facilities at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) and the University of Delaware, available to the research community through a proven shared-use model for use in field and/or laboratory applications. Design, testing, and manufacturing will be executed via partnerships with industry leaders in custom oceanographic instrumentation and software development. State-of-the-art printed circuit board manufacturing technologies will be utilized to produce the miniaturized measurement probes. This project will enable transformative new research across a range of topics including coastal storm impacts, coastal aquifers, and environmental monitoring. Knowledge gained from research conducted using CCPflex systems will lead to improved predictive coastal flood mapping, better inform evacuation orders ahead of coastal storms, and aid in the development of resilient coastal communities. This project will train the next-generation of applied engineers and scientists through undergraduate involvement during the development process at UNCW – a predominantly undergraduate institution. The project team will actively recruit students from historically under-represented groups within STEM fields. Units involving CCPflex will be incorporated into the researcher’s STEM high school outreach program, “Making Waves in the Classroom,” to assist users in understanding how sediment mobilizes on the beach.The CCPflex system uses electrical conductivity to directly measure the porosity profile of a fluid-sediment mixture, which is inversely related to the sediment concentration profile. CCPflex will be capable of quantifying coastal sediment transport processes in the highly concentrated near-bed region, which is known to contribute significantly to the overall geomorphic change near the coast. The breakthrough modular “plug-and-play” design provides a wide array of deployment and sampling configurations to the end-user, significantly broadening the scope of applications. The design criteria are driven by the needs of a diverse community of coastal scientists. Groundbreaking probe design will include simultaneous interface tracking capabilities for extended applications in ocean surface dynamics and groundwater studies. Instantaneous near-bed sediment concentration profiles at up to 50 Hz at millimeter vertical resolution will advance the understanding of how turbulent flow (e.g., beneath a breaking wave) contributes to the overall sediment transport at sandy beaches. CCPflex systems will be suitable for deployment in conditions ranging from grain-scale sediment transport small laboratory studies to highly energetic field campaigns (e.g., hurricane landfall).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.