The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $505,558 project grant under the Polar Programs (CFDA 47.078) to Oregon State University. The 3-year grant, which began on October 1, 2023, will support a collaborative research project to elucidate the ocean dynamics governing melt at glaciers using Lagrangian floats. The research aims to determine the physical processes causing melting at an Alaskan glacier that ends in a fjord, focusing on whether recirculating cells and waves below the sea-surface cause stronger velocities than the flows associated with melting glaciers. The project will develop 3D drifting instruments to study the interplay of glacial discharge plumes, internal waves, and lateral circulations that affect heat flux and glacier mass loss. The research findings will help inform parameterizations of submarine glacial melting. The project will support a couple of graduate students and involves early career investigators as the PI and two Co-PIs.
Generated 6/18/24, 3:53 AM