Project Details
Projekt
Interactions of Flexible Aquatic Vegetation with Turbulent Flows in Rivers: field experiments and mathematical modeling with implications for transport and retention of organic matter and nutrients in fluvial ecosystems
Applicant
Dr. Tatiana Suhodolova
Subject Area
Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management
Term
from 2009 to 2013
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 137012179
Aquatic plants are an important component of fluvial ecosystems. They provide habitat and organic carbon for many aquatic species and also have direct effects on flow, morphodynamics, and nutrient transport. While there have been recent advances in theories that describe the effects of plants in laboratory flows, their application in rivers is still problematic due to limited knowledge of the mutual interactions between flexible plants and turbulence in natural streams. The proposed research is aimed at quantifying and modeling the mechanisms of vegetation-flow interactions by carrying out field experimental studies. The studies will explore the impact of flexible aquatic vegetation with a non-uniform (patchy) distribution on the flow structure. In addition we will quantify particulate matter transport in vegetation mosaics. The field experiments will be guided by laboratory study and accomplished with theoretical analysis and numerical modeling. The results of the study will be generalized by means of analytical modeling, while the wider parameter space and deeper understanding of flow physics will be gained through the completion of numerical simulations. The proposed research project is interdisciplinary and international, combining the expertise of IGB in carrying complex field experiments with that of MIT in elaborate laboratory studies and theoretical analysis, and with UI in advanced methods of numerical simulations.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
International Connection
USA
