U.S.-New Zealand Cooperative Research: The Role of Spatially Complex Shoreface Roughness in Sediment Transport and Deposition: A New Zealand Case Study and Model Development

College Of William & Mary Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Gloucester Point VA

Investigators

Abstract

9987936 Wright This award supports collaboration between the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand, on the role of spatially complex shoreface roughness in sediment transport and deposition. The proposal requests funds to determine if spatially variable bed roughness causes a corresponding pattern in sediment flux divergence through the effect of roughness on boundary layer and sediment dynamics. The support provided will allow VIMS to participate in a field and modeling research program being undertaken in New Zealand. Participation in the program will provide an exciting opportunity to collect a significant data set that allows sediment resuspension and transport to be studied in a complex environment. The collaboration builds on existing research in both institutions, and provides several US students the opportunity to participate in field research in New Zealand. Additional data collected through major field research efforts in NZ will complement data collected with VIMS instruments as well as provide a critical mass of researchers addressing this complex problem. This collaborative effort with New Zealand has the potential to make progress toward developing a predictive general model for nearshore environments, an important goal for both the US and for New Zealand, given the value to both countries of understanding coastal environments.