OC Research - Oceanography
Rocky Shores Experiments and Simulations (ROXSI)
The ROXSI is a multi-university research initiative focused on the littoral ocean dynamics along rocky shores, from the coastline out to ~1km offshore. Limited measurements of the wave transformation and resulting wave-driven circulation patterns that occur along the extreme rough bottom and shorelines, and these experiments will provide new observations to modify oceanographic models for rocky coasts. Local field experiments are scheduled for 2022, oceanside of the Monterey Peninsula, and 2023 along the northern coastline of Big Sur.
ROXSI is a joint experiment with investigators from the Naval Postgraduate School, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD), Oregon State University, University of Delaware, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Stanford University / Hopkins Marine Station. ROXSI is funded by the Office of Naval Research.
Contact: Prof. Jamie MacMahan for potential thesis opportunities.
New England Seamounts Calibrated Acoustic Fluctuations Experiment (NESCAFE)
Located in the dynamic currents of the Gulf Stream, Southeast of Georges Bank, the New England Seamounts provide a challenging environment for studying acoustic variability, signal detection, localization and tracking in a high turbidity region with complex topography.
Beginning 2022, environmental mooring were deployed at the Atlantis II seamounts to begin characterizing the ocean environmental conditions (temperature, salinity, currents vs. depth & time), with Spring 2023 pilot experiment and larger 2024 main experiment efforts.
Funded by the Office of Naval Research, part of the Task Force Ocean, Department Research Initiative. Contact: John Colosi for potential thesis opportunities.
Canada Basin Acoustic Propagation Experiment (CANAPE)
Funded by the Office of Naval Research, the Naval Postgraduate School teamed with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in a field experiment abord the USCGC Healy to deploy deep-water moorings in the Beaufort Sea.
With changes in the Arctic Ocean structure and ice cover, the Canada Basin Acoustic Propagation Experiment (CANAPE) deep water comoponent was designed to study the low frequency propagation and ambient noise in the seasonal conditions of open water, marginal ice zone / partial coverage, and complete ice coverage conditions throughout the 2016-2017 study period. Ongoing data analysis of the arctic propagation continues.
Funded by the Office of Naval Research. Contact: John Colosi for potential thesis opportunities.
Coastal Morphodynamics
Connections between land and the coastal ocean are complicated by changes in morphology near river mouths. These systems pose challenges to characterizing the coastal ocean environment (sediment concentrations, salinity, temperature, etc) as well as characterizing the coastal morphological response (coastal flooding, beach hazards, beach breaching, etc.). We monitor intermittently breaching systems using remote sensing and in-situ methods including structure-from-motion (SfM), multispectral aerial imagery, circulation (water level and velocity), and water quality (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen). Waves and river discharge play a critical role in modulating outputs from these systems.
Thesis opportunities in this lab include UAS (drone) imagery and LIDAR analysis, machine learning with multispectral images, lab experiments on submerged granular flow, mapping of plume/surfzone dynamics, to name a few. Other opportunities include morphodynamic modeling of these systems.
Contact: Mara Orescanin for thesis opportunities.