Public-Private Partnership Could Transform Seafloor Imaging

Members of the Coastal Hydrodynamics and Sediment Dynamics lab at VIMS. From L: Professor Carl Friedrichs; Adjunct Professor Paul Panetta of ARA Inc.; and graduate students Lindsey Kraatz, Kelsey Fall, and Grace Cartwright.

Photo by Susan Stein.

By David Malmquist

Researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science are involved in a unique public-private collaboration that could transform the way scientists look at—and into—the seafloor.

The effort, part of the larger VIMS Industry Partnership, teams Dr. Paul Panetta of Applied Research Associates, Inc. with professor Carl Friedrichs, lab manager and PhD student Grace Cartwright, PhD student Lindsey Kraatz, and other members of the Physical Sciences Department at VIMS.Their goal is to use sonar to peer into the top few inches of the muds and sands that blanket the bottom of Chesapeake Bay. Knowing the grain size and internal structure of these surficial sediments is key to predicting whether they will erode or stay put when subjected to tides, waves, and other currents.

Sediments that erode easily can lead to dispersal of marine pollutants—many of which tend to accumulate in seafloor muds. Eroded sediments can also cloud the water, keeping sunlight from seagrasses and other marine plants. Shading of seagrass beds reduces their ability to shelter and nourish the young of blue crabs and other marine animals.

Sonar units detect and image objects by emitting sound waves and recording any resulting echoes. High-frequency sound waves, like those used to create the sonograms so familiar to expectant parents, provide extremely fine detail but don't penetrate very far into the materials being imaged. Low-frequency sound waves, like those used in oil exploration, exhibit the opposite behavior—they provide only rough details, but can penetrate through miles of rock or water.

Imaging the top few inches of the seafloor requires an instrument that operates between these extremes—with enough power to penetrate water and sediments, and enough detail to discern the subtle differences in grain size that define small-scale layering.

The top few centimeters of seafloor sediments play an important role in marine ecosystems. Wormcam photo courtesy of Dr. Bob Diaz.

Although some sonar units used in marine research use frequencies appropriate to these criteria, they are typically designed for such specific purposes that modifying them to peer within the seafloor is difficult at best. An example is the Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter. ADVs can measure the speed (and direction) of underwater currents to the nearest 0.1 centimeter per second—but are not designed to take advantage of other acoustic information, such as backscatter and attenuation, contained within the reverberating sound waves.

Panetta has thus pursued a hybrid approach, taking a part that is generic to most marine sonar units (the "transducer" that sends and receives the ultrasonic pulse), and fitting it to a high-tech instrument normally used to test for cracks and corrosion in gas pipelines and other metal structures.

He says the instrument—a high-power ultrasonic pulser/receiver—is much more adaptable than a typical off-the-shelf sonar unit. "It opens the door to all sorts of post-processing and analysis of the signal, for frequency, amplitude, and time," says Panetta.

Panetta says the difference between using an ADV and the modified ultrasonic pulser/receiver to look at sediment is like the difference between "driving down the street and recording house numbers—103, 105, 107—or driving down the same street but stopping to look inside each house."

"The ADV gives you a single number that is used to determine the current velocity and the concentration of sediment in the water column," says Panetta. "The ultrasonic pulser/receiver gives you the raw ultrasonic signal and lets you examine all the background information, including—we hope—the grain size and structure in the top 5 to 10 centimeters of seafloor sediments."

That would be good news for Friedrichs, Cartwright, and Kraatz, who look forward to adding to their understanding of how sediments behave, both in the water and on the bottom.

"So far, we've only been able to look at what's in suspension," says Cartwright.  "Now we're hoping we can combine what Paul knows and the data from his new instrument to also look at the top few centimeters of the bed."

The team plans to continue testing their instrumentation in the laboratory and field during the coming months. Panetta estimates that their research could make it into the marketplace within the next few years.

Excerpted from: http://www.vims.edu/newsandevents/topstories/archives/2010/sonic_partnership.php

Scientists say wind reduces Chesapeake Bay dead zones

By Cory Nealon  2:37 p.m. EDT, July 25, 2011

Excerpted from: http://www.dailypress.com/news/science/dead-rise-blog/dp-scientists-say-wind-reduces-chesapeake-bay-dead-zones-20110725,0,7046457.story

New research may suggest that wind plays a much larger role than previously thought in preventing oxygen-deprived dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay.

Two key factors lead to dead zones, which are blamed for fish kills, beach closures and other maladies. One is pollution — from fertilizers, sewage and other sources — that runs into the bay and its tributaries. The other is a phenomena known as stratification.

Stratification occurs when fresh water from rivers forms a surface layer above colder and saltier waters from the ocean. The top layer can prevent the mixing of atmospheric oxygen in deeper waters leading to dead zones.

“For six decades, the prevailing scientific wisdom was that tides provided the destructive force, by generating turbulence through ebb and flow over the rough bottom. In recent years, a new player has emerged — wind blowing over the estuary,” Carl Friedrichs, a Virginia Institute of Marine Science professor, said in a statement.

They will set an array of instruments on a fixed tower and buoys in the middle of the bay and the York River to measure water temperature, salinity, current speeds and other information. The data will be fed into computer models and simulated across the bay.

Friedrichs said the information will help scientists make more precise policy recommendations to politicians and bureaucrats.

The grant comes as lobbying groups, such as the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Association of Home Builders, criticize models used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop bay policy.

The two groups have filed separate lawsuits to halt the EPA’s revamped effort to restore the bay. EPA officials and most scientists say that while the models are not perfect, they are among the most advanced in the world.

The grant runs three years. It includes Malcolm Scully, an oceanography professor at Old Dominion University, and Bill Boicourt, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

Copyright © 2011, Newport News, Va., Daily Press

Friedrichs Wins Grant to Study Wind's Effect on "Dead Zones"

Professor Carl Friedrichs prepares to deploy a sensor package.

By David Malmquist. Excerpted from:

http://www.vims.edu/newsandevents/topstories/dead_zone_wind.php

       VIMS professor Carl Friedrichs and colleagues at the University of Maryland and Old Dominion University have received a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to observe and model how wind affects the development of low-oxygen “dead zones” in Chesapeake Bay and the York River.

Dead zones—areas of seafloor with too little oxygen for most marine life—are a growing problem in coastal waters worldwide, including estuaries like Chesapeake Bay.
Friedrichs and his colleagues note that two main factors contribute to dead-zone formation. Perhaps most familiar are the blooms of algae that form when excessive loads of nitrogen—from fertilizers, municipal sewage, and other sources—runoff into coastal waters. When these algae die and sink, they provide a rich food source for bacteria, which in the act of decomposition take up dissolved oxygen from the surrounding environment.
       A less familiar control on dead-zone formation—the one Friedrichs and his colleagues will be studying—is the wind’s effect on stratification of the water column. Stratification is common in estuaries, where input of relatively fresh water from rivers tends to form a surface layer atop colder and saltier water from the sea. This stratification can prevent the mixing or dissolution of atmospheric oxygen into deeper waters—thus promoting the development or persistence of dead zones.
       Until recently, scientists had thought that the main force acting to disrupt stratification—and thus alleviate dead zones—was the daily ebb and flow of the tides. Friedrichs, along with collaborators at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Old Dominion University’s Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, will test a different idea—that wind also plays an important role in estuarine circulation and mixing.
       “The physical workings of an estuary depend on the outcome of a contest between forces acting to stratify its waters, and forces acting to destroy this stratification,” notes Friedrichs. “For six decades, the prevailing scientific wisdom was that tides provided the destructive force, by generating turbulence through ebb and flow over the rough bottom. In recent years, a new player has emerged—wind blowing over the estuary.”
       The research team will study wind and its potential effects on stratification by deploying a suite of traditional and cutting-edge weather and oceanographic instruments. These include anemometers to measure wind speed and direction, Acoustic Doppler current profilers and velocimeters to measure current speed and direction, and CT sensors to record water temperature and salinity. They’ll deploy these instruments from a fixed tower and an array of buoys in the middle reaches of Chesapeake Bay and in the York River. They will also use a pair of research vessels to tow a “Scanfish” through local waters, measuring its density in three dimensions.
       Data from these sensors will be fed into a computer model whose output will help the researchers better understand the relative effects of tides and wind on estuarine stratification. This improved understanding will ultimately help guide management efforts to reduce the duration and severity of dead zones in Chesapeake Bay and other coastal waters.
       “Costly programs are planned and underway to restore the health of our nation’s estuaries,” says Friedrichs. “These management programs will need an accurate description of the physics of estuarine circulation if they are to be successful.”
       The multi-institutional research team is led by Dr. Bill Boicourt of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and includes Dr. Malcolm Scully of Old Dominion University. Scully is a 2005 graduate of the College of William and Mary’s School of Marine Science at VIMS.

Grace Cartwright's Outstanding Technical Support Citation

Ms. Grace Cartwright.

During her 23 years at VIMS, Grace has led field experiments, deployments, and field sampling in Virginia in Lynnhaven Inlet, in the Elizabeth, James, Potomac and York rivers; in North Carolina on the shelf off Cape Fear and in the surf zone off Duck; throughout the Virginia and Maryland waters of Chesapeake Bay; in Brunswick Harbor, Georgia; in Plum Island, Massachusetts; in San Francisco Bay, California; and off the Waiapu River, New Zealand. Grace's many technological innovations include the design and construction of a real-time tripod-to-buoy communications system, an SQL-based server for storing and serving observing system data and meta-data, and the "ROSE" profiler for Real-time Oceanographic Sensing Equipment (which she proudly named after her daughter).

Grace has also been lead PI on her own externally funded VIMS contracts totaling more than $175,000. She has authored or co-authored dozens of articles, reports, and abstracts. She has regularly attended technical workshops and given countless talks, including invited presentations to the EPA/NOAA Chesapeake Bay Program and to New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. As well as supervising staff, Grace has co-mentored 16 high school and undergraduate interns, served as a teaching assistant and guest lectured in SMS Core Courses, and twice taught the W&M Geology Introductory Lab on the main campus.

Grace is an outstanding employee at VIMS, and we are proud to honor her with this award.

Congratulations, Grace!

The Outstanding Classified Employee awards are chosen by nominations received by the Awards Committee from all faculty, staff, and students at VIMS. They are awarded in the categories of Facilities/Safety/Trades, Research and Advisory Service, Technical Support, and Administrative Support.

Excerpted from:

http://www.vims.edu/newsandevents/topstories/archives/2010/special_awards/technical_support.php

Friedrichs, Latour and Kuehl Selected for Plumeri Awards

By John Wallace & David Malmquist, excerpted from:

http://www.vims.edu/newsandevents/topstories/archives/2010/plumeri_awards.php

Professors Carl Friedrichs, Rob Latour, and Steve Kuehl of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, have been selected to receive Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence in recognition of their exemplary achievements in teaching, research, and service.

"The College is well known for its accomplished faculty," says William & Mary Provost Michael Halleran. "To distinguish oneself among this group of peers, as recipients of the 2010 Plumeri Awards have done, speaks volumes to their talent and work ethic. They are truly deserving of this recognition."


Friedrichs, Latour, and Kuehl—professors of marine science in the School of Marine Science at VIMS—join 17 other W&M faculty members in receiving the 2010 awards.

"Carl, Rob, and Steve are wonderful examples of faculty excellence at VIMS," says VIMS Dean and Director John Wells. "These faculty have international reputations and excel in research-based solutions to the many challenges facing our coastal oceans."

Joseph J. Plumeri II

The awards are named in recognition of Joseph J. Plumeri II '66, who in the spring of 2008 made a significant commitment to his alma mater to "honor and support" its faculty's efforts through creation of the Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence.

The awards, which include a $10,000 prize for each recipient, are to be given to 20 William & Mary faculty members every year for a decade, beginning in 2009. The funds are to be applied toward research, summer salaries, or other stipends associated with scholarly endeavor, with the ultimate intention of enhancing faculty interaction with students and, in Mr. Plumeri's own words, empowering the College's professors to continue to "work passionately to challenge the minds of our exceptional students."

Carl Friedrichs

Possessing the unusual ability to work across the traditional disciplines of marine, earth, and environmental sciences, Professor Friedrichs conducts cutting-edge research in physical oceanography, sedimentary geology, sediment transport, coastal morphodynamics, and marine ecology. He has authored or co-authored 71 peer-reviewed publications and has been the lead investigator on 22 federally funded research grants. In the classroom, Friedrichs has proven himself an exceptional communicator who possesses the ability to make complex ideas and concepts understandable to students. He has been involved at a high level in many national and international panels, working groups, and steering committees. He served on the National Science Foundation's Coastal Ocean Processes Scientific Steering Committee from 2002 to 2008, and has been on the steering committee for Physics of Estuaries and Coastal Seas International Biennial Conference Series since 1996. He holds a doctorate in oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program.

Lindsey Kraatz's Maury Award Citation

The Matthew Fontaine Maury Fellowship Award is made possible by an endowment that was created in 1988 by the late U.S. Navy Captain J. Maury Werth to honor his great-grandfather Matthew Fontaine Maury, a son of Virginia often referred to as the “Father of Oceanography” and the “Pathfinder of the Seas.” Captain Werth and other family members have contributed to the endowment over the years.

The Maury Award recognizes interdisciplinary achievements in marine and environmental scholarship, research, and/or policy/management efforts, and outstanding publications, thesis, or dissertation work. This year’s winner is Lindsey Kraatz.

Lindsey Kraatz on a SCUBA dive.

Lindsey Kraatz is an excellent example of an interdisciplinary marine scientist, working at the interface of marine geology, benthic biology, and physical oceanography. In addition, she has held multiple leadership positions at VIMS, including service as President of the William & Mary Graduate Council, President of the VIMS Graduate Student Association, and Vice Chair of the VIMS Honor Council.

On being awarded a prestigious VIMS GK-12 Fellowship, Lindsey developed her own study of the impact of the GK-12 program on the very high school students she was teaching. Her investigation of high schoolers’ perceptions of scientists was presented at the 2010 Ocean Sciences Meeting, featured as a news item on the website of the National Science Foundation, and has recently been flagged for an invited talk at the Fall 2011 meeting of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation.

At the same time, Lindsey is also doing outstanding, highly independent estuarine field research. Her study in the York River using a rotating acoustic side-scan system entirely new to VIMS was awarded an oral presentation at the prestigious 2011 Coastal Sediments meeting, along with an article in the associated edited volume. Lindsey is preparing several additional, equally important articles as part of her ongoing graduate research at VIMS.

Congratulations, Lindsey!

Reposted from:

http://www.vims.edu/newsandevents/topstories/student_awards/maury_fellowship.php