What lies beneath: Fluid mechanics through the lens of the coastal free surface
University of New Hampshire
Abstract
Flow interactions at coastlines play a major role in global ocean energy and nutrient budgets. However, coastal flows can be expensive, logistically challenging, and even dangerous to study in situ. In this talk, I will cover problems that connect the water surface and subsurface dynamics in the coastal ocean, using idealized laboratory experiments to understand the physics of these systems. First, I will discuss the first step in remotely characterizing seagrass meadows by studying the overlying water surface. Flow through a seagrass bed can generate large overturning vortex structures, which cause small perturbations in the free surface slope. Using laboratory experiments, we develop a parameterized model to reconstruct within-canopy velocity profiles solely from water surface measurements, suggesting that in some environmental flows, the subsurface hydrodynamics and geometry may be predicted by measuring the water surface behavior alone. Second, I will examine the dynamics of turbulent buoyant plumes, such as those that might emerge at the base of a marine-terminating glacier, including preliminary work that quantifies the surface expression of these buoyant plumes.
About the speaker
Dr. Tracy Mandel is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Ocean Engineering at the University of New Hampshire. Her research explores the natural physical processes that occur at ocean margins in order to better protect, restore, and consider these systems in engineering decisions. Tracy received her B.S. from Cornell University and her M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University, and she was awarded the 2018 Lorenz G. Straub Award for most meritorious doctoral dissertation in hydraulic engineering, ecohydraulics, and related fields.
