[Geoldept] New USGS Snohomish Delta Seafloor Mapping Data and Student/Internship Opportunities

Wed Feb 12 11:23:45 PST 2014

Hi - I think the exciting part of the last email the map images didnt come through AND I added a few student opportunities-topics we are keen on integrating if anyone is interested,

Just want to share with you some new data we collected last week off of the Snohomish Delta and inquire if any students are interested in (1) participating in similar upcoming nearshore coastal mapping and sampling surveys with my team, and/or (2) working on these types of data and derivative products we generate with them, largely GIS mapping/modeling projects? If so please let me know. We also are actively mapping the lower portions of rivers and estuary channels that either have never been mapped or are characterized by old data. Any students interested in also working with my team to measure currents, waves, water properties, sediment transport, salt wedge and its intrusion, as well as, fish (using lampara net), vegetation (eelgrass/marsh) and benthic invertebrates, and finally sediment cores/surface grabs across these systems please let me know.

Below are preliminary bathymetry results relative to existing data from the 1990s/1960s that show progradation along the entire outer delta and between 10 and 15 m of accumulation along the delta front, both higher in the north. These agree with our recent results from Nooksack, Skagit, Stillaguamish, Nisqually and Skokomish deltas, that significant progradation since the 1880s and ongoing export of sediment appear to be significantly higher than before logging and large-scale river-delta channelization increased and focused sediment loads through levees to the nearshore. The progradation is a little less extensive in Snohomish than say Nooksack and Skagit probably because the hydrodynamics offshore are more complex off of Everett and sediment is spread over a larger area. These results are integrated with our USGS Interdisciplinary Coastal Habitat in Puget Sound Project biological and ecological studies to inform (1) the extent that this nearshore sediment disturbance impacts essential salmon habitat, foodwebs, and salmon recovery goals, and (2) the extent that floodplain/estuary restoration and impending coastal hazard mitigation would benefit and perform by restoring sediment transport processes and deposition across floodplains and emergent deltas (like it used to) where they could maintain land surface elevations, wetland accretion, estuarine channels, and reduce floods and drainage problems that are now increasingly vulnerable to sea-level rise and climate change.

Anyone interested, please let me know (ext4697) or swing by ES121.
Cheers, Eric

[X]

[X]

Eric E. Grossman, PhD
Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
USGS Western Fisheries Research Center, 6505 NE 65th St., Seattle, WA 98115; 206-526-6282x334<tel:206-526-6282x334> (office), 831-234-4674<tel:831-234-4674> (cell)
email: egrossman at usgs.gov<mailto:egrossman at usgs.gov>

Affiliate Researcher, Western Washington University
Dept. of Geology, 516 High St., MS 9080
Bellingham, WA, 98225; 360-650-4697<tel:831-234-4674> (office)
email: Eric.Grossman at wwu.edu<mailto:egrossman at usgs.gov>
http://puget.usgs.gov/
http://coralreefs.wr.usgs.gov/
http://www.usgs.gov/coastsalish
________________________________
From: Eric Grossman
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 11:47 AM
To: Theresa Tripp; geoldept at kula.geol.wwu.edu
Subject: RE: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) at the University of New Hampshire

Hi All,
I strongly endorse this opportunity for anyone interested in acoustics, seafloor/habitat mapping, and geophysics - CCOM is perhaps the most prestigious mapping center in the US!

In addition, we want to develop additional capacity here at WWU and my USGS team has many opportunities to participate and advance your hands-on skills with multibeam and single-beam mapping of bathymetry, acoustic backscatter intensity (for interpreting substrate/morphology), and shallow seismic reflection profiling (some of you have taken me up on past volunteer opportunities).  We also use both red and green LiDAR (latter penetrates water) to complement coastal mapping, and recently I have been bringing sonars and sidescans up our rivers including the Nooksack River. These methods are used to inform several emerging science priorities here in the PNW including characterizing benthic habitats and change, evaluating faults, landslide, and other coastal hazards, quantifying sediment transport processes and budgets, reconstructing quaternary coastal evolution, and generating critical boundary conditions for numerical hydrodynamic modeling - all of which we are trying to grow here in our department.

See attached for applications to the Nooksack Delta, last year's Skokomish Delta survey, and yesterday's update from Snohomish Delta.

let me know if you are interested and how I can help you.
Eric

Eric E. Grossman, PhD
Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
USGS Western Fisheries Research Center, 6505 NE 65th St., Seattle, WA 98115; 206-526-6282x334<tel:206-526-6282x334> (office), 831-234-4674<tel:831-234-4674> (cell)
email: egrossman at usgs.gov<mailto:egrossman at usgs.gov>

Affiliate Researcher, Western Washington University
Dept. of Geology, 516 High St., MS 9080
Bellingham, WA, 98225; 360-650-4697<tel:831-234-4674> (office)
email: Eric.Grossman at wwu.edu<mailto:egrossman at usgs.gov>
http://puget.usgs.gov/
http://coralreefs.wr.usgs.gov/
http://www.usgs.gov/coastsalish
________________________________
From: geoldept-bounces at kula.geol.wwu.edu [geoldept-bounces at kula.geol.wwu.edu] on behalf of Theresa Tripp [Theresa.Tripp at wwu.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 8:48 AM
To: geoldept at kula.geol.wwu.edu
Subject: [Geoldept] FW: Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) at the University of New Hampshire

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) at the
Center for Coastal & Ocean Mapping, University of New Hampshire
CCOM-SURF

The Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM) at the University of New Hampshire is a national center for excellence for the development of state-of-the-art ocean mapping technologies and for training the next generation of ocean mappers.

CCOM’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program is designed to create research experiences for undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing graduate work. SURF is aimed primarily at students who are working toward a degree in science, engineering, or math and are completing their junior year.

Students accepted into the program will spend up to 10 intensive weeks (normally early-June to mid-August) working under the guidance of a CCOM faculty member.
They will conduct research related to acoustics, bathymetric mapping, habitat mapping, lidar, marine geology and geophysics, optical imaging, sonar signal processing, or data visualization. Research activities may include laboratory experiments, field work, a research cruise, data analysis, model development, or instrument development. The research conducted by all fellows will be presented to CCOM at the end of the summer, and summarized in a written report. Students who are awarded a fellowship will receive a stipend, on-campus room and board, and travel assistance.

How to Apply

Students should submit the following:
• a current transcript indicating their GPA
• a list of courses in which they are currently enrolled
• two letters of recommendation from faculty at their home institution
• a short essay (one to two pages) outlining their research interests and reasons for applying for the SURF

Submissions should be in PDF format and sent to surf at ccom.unh.edu<mailto:surf at ccom.unh.edu>.
Applications must be received by March 1.
Applicants will be informed of the selection committee’s decision by April 1.

For more information about CCOM-SURF, visit www.ccom.unh.edu/surf<http://www.ccom.unh.edu/surf>

For more information about CCOM, visit www.ccom.unh.edu<http://www.ccom.unh.edu>

--

Tara Hicks Johnson

Outreach Specialist

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping / Joint Hydrographic Center

University of New Hampshire

24 Colovos Road, Durham, NH 03824

603-862-1417, tjohnson at ccom.unh.edu<mailto:tjohnson at ccom.unh.edu>

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