Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Reducing Uncertainty In Sea-Level Rise Prediction: A Spatial-Variability-Aware Approach, Subhankar Ghosh, Shuai An, Arun Sharma, Jayant Gupta, Shashi Shekhar, Aneesh Subramanian

I-GUIDE Forum

Given multi-model ensemble climate projections, the goal is to accurately and reliably predict future sea-level rise while lowering the uncertainty. This problem is important because sea-level rise affects millions of people in coastal communities and beyond due to climate change's impacts on polar ice sheets and the ocean. This problem is challenging due to spatial variability and unknowns such as possible tipping points (e.g., collapse of Greenland or West Antarctic ice-shelf), climate feedback loops (e.g., clouds, permafrost thawing), future policy decisions, and human actions. Most existing climate modeling approaches use the same set of weights globally, during either regression or …

Estimating Blue Carbon Stocks In Native And Non-Native Seagrass Beds Of Jobos Bay, Pr, Michael Chapman, Raven Winant, Kayla Gonzalez-Boy, Mark Mccarthy, Ángel Dieppa-Ayala

Symposium of Student Scholars

Seagrasses are keystone species that support coastal biodiversity, but not all species of seagrasses provide the same ecosystem services. Although seagrasses occupy a small area of marine habitat, they provide many ecosystem services. They stabilize sediments, remove nutrients, provide habitat and food for diverse marine life, and promote carbon storage in sediments. Jobos Bay is the second largest estuary in Puerto Rico and contains salt marshes, mangroves, and seagrass beds. The native seagrass, Thalassia testudinum, is the most abundant seagrass in the bay; however, a seagrass species from the Indian Ocean, Halophila stipulacea, began invading in recent years. The impacts …

The Importance Of Processing And Understanding Bacteriophages, Alexandra Greco, Emily Bishop, Emma Hofseth, Kelsi Phelps

Undergraduate Research Competition

There are many bacteria that are increasingly becoming antibiotic resistant resulting in a new prevalent medical issue. Bacteriophages are evolutionary virus weapons that infect and fight against these infectious bacteria that give rise to Bacteriophages the most abundant biological entity found in nature, outnumbering all life combined, with a total estimated population of 1031. As part of BIOL 302L - Phage Discovery, we focused on identifying phages from individually collected soil samples found regionally in South Carolina. Through a series of experiments, we were able to identify and amplify two newly discovered phages that infect Mycobacterium Smegmatis following the protocols …

Telling Their Story: Identifying Stranded Bottlenose Dolphins Using Dorsal Fin Photo-Identification To Match Known Individuals, Grace Richa

Undergraduate Research Competition

Bottlenose dolphins are protected and managed under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. When dolphins die (strand), researchers investigate the cause of death, but additional information regarding past experience and distribution can help to identify long-term exposure to pathogens and threats. The objective of this study is to use dorsal fin photo-identification to identify stranded bottlenose dolphins by matching them to known individuals from historical CCU research survey data. Photos from vessel-based surveys in Cape Romain, Murrells Inlet, Winyah Bay, and North Inlet, SC were sorted, cropped, and compared to existing fins in the CCU catalog using finFindR, a photo processing …

Identifying Overwash Layers In Marsh Sediment, Charles Mina

Undergraduate Research Competition

Hurricanes have become one of the most researched topics in recent years, due to their damage costs and their uncertain correlations with climate change. Much of the research for this topic has come from direct interaction with storms, such as damage reports and land surveys. However, there is a gap in the historical record of hurricanes, as most historical record is only written. These records can be biased and are too short of a record to identify a pattern of climate change. Grain size analysis, where sizes of sediment grains are measured, can be used to identify the storm events …

Comparative Analysis Of Implementing Solar Energy In South Carolina, Paige Huntzberry, Jo Whitney

Undergraduate Research Competition

Solar energy is becoming an increasingly popular method of providing energy to homes and businesses all over the world. Converting to solar energy is a huge step in reducing our carbon footprint, a driving force of global climate change. While this type of energy production provides an eco-friendly approach to power, requiring minimal maintenance and virtually no additional infrastructure, many are still opposed to the implementation due to financial reservations. The aim of this project is to design a solar array for installation on a building at the Medical University of South Carolina, providing a cost effective and practical approach …

The Impact Of Prc Language Policies On Minority Languages Of China, Margaret Shoop

Undergraduate Research Competition

While language is often used as a tool to bring people together and celebrate differences, language can also be weaponized and used to suppress minority groups of people. There are over three hundred unique languages and dialects spoken in Mainland China, with Mandarin Chinese being the most widely spoken of the languages. Mandarin is the official state language of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and it is also the primary language taught in schools across the country. Despite official Chinese policy of teaching Mandarin Chinese alongside local dialects, Mandarin is favored over minority languages. The unequal emphasis on Mandarin …

Seasonal Fluctuation Of Nutrients That Lead To Microcystis Bloom Development In Wall Pond, Coastal Carolina University, Alyssa Antolak

Undergraduate Research Competition

The harmful cyanobacteria Microcystis globally dominates eutrophic freshwater systems. Eutrophication leading to nitrogen and phosphorus loading into aquatic systems is increasing bloom propagation and shifting diatom/dinoflagellate dominated systems to cyanobacteria dominated systems. Understanding seasonal variability and environmental parameters combined with nutrient loading will allow for better understanding of what factors are influencing Microcystis blooms. Biweekly plankton samples, environmental parameters, and nutrients were collected from Wall Pond from spring 2022-spring 2023. Nitrogen and phosphate limitation was examined by performing seasonal nutrient limitation experiments. Early results show that yearly plankton samples shifted from diatom dominated in the late summer-early fall to Microcystis …

Margalefidinium Polykrikoides Cyst Resuspension In The Lafayette River, A Sub-Tributary Of The Chesapeake Bay, Gabrielle Greaney, Eduardo Perez Vega, Katherine Crider, Dreux Chappell, Kimberly Powell, Richard Hale, Peter Bernhardt, Margaret Mulholland

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Harmful Algal Blooms are a collection of algae in a body of water that can cause serious environmental issues and health problems in both people and aquatic organisms. Dinoflagellates are microscopic, unicellular, and eukaryotic organisms that are well known for forming harmful algal blooms because of eutrophication. Coastal Virginia suffers from HABs in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. A common species of dinoflagellate, known as Margalefidinium polykrikoides exists in the Chesapeake Bay. The purpose of this study is to determine if sediment resuspension produced by wind generated surface gravity waves cause cysts (dinoflagellate resting stages) to be suspended into …

Investigating Temporal Groundwater Interactions Between A Barrier Island And High Marsh Environment, Dean Wrobel

Undergraduate Research Competition

Saltmarsh hydrogeology can be characterized as exceptionally dynamic, with a diversity of pore water salinities, sediment porosities, and varied hydrologic inputs and outputs such as groundwater, precipitation, and tidal cycles. Of the studies done in these systems, much attention has been focused on the low marsh with regard to tidal pumping and the consequent horizontal pressure gradients which affect the subsurface hydraulic head. Perhaps, an equally dynamic boundary is expected at the groundwater interface of the barrier island and high marsh. Here, electrical resistivity tomograms were generated in a back-barrier, high-marsh site landward of Waties Island, South Carolina. Co-located transects …

Microplastic Concentration Analysis Of The Atlantic Sand Fiddler Crab (Leptuca Pugilator) In Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, Caroline Conner

Undergraduate Research Competition

Microplastics pose a great threat to the natural environment, a threat not aided by their increasing abundance in marine waters. To assess how this is affecting our local area, I examined the microplastic concentration in fiddler crabs, a keystone species in intertidal zones, from two marsh systems in Murrells Inlet. The quantity, color, and type of microplastic found were recorded from each of the 120 crabs sampled. This information is revelant not only in monitoring the health of a species that plays a major role in nutrient recycling and prevention of anoxic conditions, but also as a caution to us. …

What Lives On Offshore Artificial Reefs In South Carolina? An Analysis Of Epifaunal Reef Communities And How They Vary With Reef Age, Sydney Madden

Undergraduate Research Competition

Artificial reef structures have been deployed across the coast of South Carolina in an effort to increase fish habitat and provide other ecosystem services. There are approximately 45 artificial reef systems established by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) over several decades. The hard structure—frequently composed of concrete, old boats, or other structures—forms unique high relief hard-bottom habitat in the otherwise largely low relief coastal shelf. Currently, there is little published on the species composition of the epifaunal communities in this region, how much biomass they support, and how they develop over time. We studied two established artificial …

Ocean Waves Workshop 2019 Session 4 Notes, Kaus Raghukumar, Sam Mcwilliams

Ocean Waves Workshop

No abstract provided.

Deficiencies In The Physics Of Existing Operational Wave And Surge Models, D. T. Resio

Ocean Waves Workshop

No abstract provided.

Ocean Waves Workshop 2019 Session 3 Notes, Kaus Raghukumar, Sam Mcwilliams

Ocean Waves Workshop

No abstract provided.

Update In Us Navy Global Wave Model Forecasting, J. D. Dykes, W. E. Rogers, D. Wang

Ocean Waves Workshop

No abstract provided.

Ocean Waves Workshop 2019 Session 2 Notes, Kaus Raghukumar, Sam Mcwilliams

Ocean Waves Workshop

No abstract provided.

Directional Spectrum Measurements By The Spotter: A New Developed Wave Buoy, Kaus Raghukumar, Grace Chang, Frank Spada, Tim Jannsen

Ocean Waves Workshop

The Spotter is an accurate, low-cost, easily deployable and robust solar powered wave buoy recently developed by Sofar Technologies (formerly Spoondrift). Spotter reduces costs and complexity of surface wave and current measurements, which can be useful for academic, military, and commercial research into surface wave and wave-driven dynamics. We performed a series of validation tests and research experiments with the Spoondrift Spotter. The low-cost and compact Spotter makes it easy to deploy arrays of wave buoys which was previously not feasible (or cost prohibitive) with traditional wave buoys. A well-designed array can provide a direct measurement of the directional wave …

Ocean Waves Workshop 2019 Session 1 Notes, Kaus Raghukumar, Sam Mcwilliams

Ocean Waves Workshop

No abstract provided.

Innovations In Metocean Sensors, Pieter Smit, T. T. Janssen

Ocean Waves Workshop

Real-time observations are critical to understand, predict and estimate the impact of extreme weather events such as extratropical hurricanes and storms. Remote sensing, moored wave buoys and advances in predictive models have greatly advanced understanding and predictive capability of extreme ocean weather. However, due to cost and complexity of traditional moored buoys, in-situ networks are typically sparse and often close to shore and not well suited to drive predictive models over meaningful geophysical scales. Here we will discuss ongoing efforts to extend the capability of the Sofar Spotter to measure marine boundary layer dynamics. With the advancement to more portable …

Monitoring Lesser Known Harmful Algal Blooms On The Oregon Coast, Taylor Dodrill, Tawnya D. Peterson, Matthew Hunter, Micah Rogers

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Ocean warming has expanded the niche of harmful algal blooms (HABs), including HABs previously believed to pose little risk of shellfish contamination in the Pacific Northwest. Monitoring efforts in Washington and California have demonstrated that Dinophysis spp. is a HAB of emerging concern and has been linked to diarrhetic shellfish poisoning events. However, quantitative monitoring for Dinophysis spp. on the Oregon Coast has been limited. This analysis provides a preliminary characterization of risk that Dinophysis spp. poses to shellfish consumers in Oregon. Furthermore, we assess the predator-prey interaction between Dinophysis spp. and its prey, Mesodinium rubrum, to determine whether …

Session 4 Discussion Notes, Ocean Waves Workshop 2017

Ocean Waves Workshop

No abstract provided.

Overview Of Open Source Codes To Assess Environmental Effects On Ocean Wave Farms, Chris Chartrand, Kelley Ruehl, Jesse Roberts, Sam Mcwilliams, Kaus Raghukumar, Aaron Porter, Cameron Mcnatt

Ocean Waves Workshop

The development of SNL-SWAN by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) allows users to investigate the interaction between a WEC or WEC array and the wave environment. SNL-SWAN when coupled with a hydrodynamic and sediment transport model such as Delft3D, developed by Deltares Inc, allows for the direct investigation of WEC array effects on the physical environment (e.g. waves, currents, seabed) and the associated site ecology. Ongoing development of these tools has shown how the coupling of SNL-SWAN with Delft3D-Flow can quantify the interaction between device(s) and the hydrodynamic environment at a real-world site.

Wave-Measuring Performance Characteristics Of Spoondrift Spotter, K. Raghukumar, G. Chang, F. Spada, C. Jones, W. Gans, T. Janssen

Ocean Waves Workshop

Spoondrift Spotter represents a state-of-the-art wave measurement buoy developed by Spoondrift (www.spoondrift.co) and supported by funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). A low-cost buoy platform like Spotter enables a range of new applications. For instance, coherent arrays of Spotters can support adaptive tuning of marine and hydrokinetic energy devices. In general, the availability of high-fidelity wave measurements can help support wave assessments for a variety of commercial, military, operational, academic, and recreational users.

Wave Energy Converter Effects On The Nearshore Environment, Grace Chang, Craig Jones, Jason Magalen, Jesse Roberts

Ocean Waves Workshop

This poster presents efforts to use predictive modeling tools to evaluate the impacts of Wave Energy Converter (WEC) arrays on nearshore processes, investigate effects of different WEC devices on wave propagation, examine wave propagation in the lee of a WEC array over different wave conditions, and accelerate the realization of commercial-scale wave power.

Session 4 Presentation - Improved Coastal And Nearshore Wave Forecasting, Jeffrey Hanson, Robert Fratantonio

Ocean Waves Workshop

Accurate nearshore and coastal wave forecasts are essential for the protection of life and property as well as enhancing the economy through safe and efficient commercial activities. Modeling the nearshore environment has remained both computationally intensive and challenging due to the strong interaction of waves with the ocean bottom in shallow water environments. Here we develop a new wave system approach for nearshore wave modeling that addresses these issues. Wave systems result from specific wind forcing events on the ocean surface. This approach extends earlier work on wave system partitioning and tracking to assimilate coastal buoy observations into model output …

Session 3 Discussion Notes, Ocean Waves Workshop 2017

Ocean Waves Workshop

No abstract provided.

Real-Time Wave Assimilation Using Low-Cost Sensor Arrays (Extended Abstract), Pieter Smit, Tim Janssen, Cameron Dunning, Wheeler Grans

Ocean Waves Workshop

In this paper we present the underlying theory and principal results from a new real-time data-assimilation system in which we integrate a dense network of Spotters. The sensor network was deployed as part of the ONR Innershelf DRI experiment during the period from September 2017 till November 2017. The array consists of 18 Spotters, deployed seaward of Point Sal (California) along the 20-, 50- and 100-meter depth contours (Fig. 1). Each of these buoys provides estimates of the complete frequency-directional spectrum every hour. The wave spectra and directional moments are assimilated in real-time using an efficient backward raytracing algorithm to …

Session 3 Presentation - An Overview Of Recent Wave Glider® Field Program, Pat Fitzpatrick, Yee Lau, Robert Moorhead, Adam Skarke, Daniel Merritt, Keith Kreider, Chris Brown, Ryan Carlon, Graham Hine, Teri Lampoudi, Alan Leonardi

Ocean Waves Workshop

Developed by Liquid Robotics, Inc., Wave Gliders® (WGs) use wave energy for propulsion through the synergistic alternating thrust of wave action on the floating vehicle and mechanical wings 6 m below the vehicle. WGs provide dynamic environmental monitoring in the maritime environment with weeks-tomonths-long deployments using solar panels to power sensors, and satellite and cell communication channels for data delivery. Some data is transmitted real-time or in bulk at more infrequent intervals, while other data is archived on-board for extraction after a mission.

Example field programs include: wave, ocean, and PBL measurements in tropical cyclones; algae bloom monitoring; satellite ground …

Session 2 Discussion Notes, Ocean Waves Workshop 2017

Ocean Waves Workshop

No abstract provided.