Building a Community System for Coastal Sediment-Transport Modeling

General
Information

Objectives

Who should attend

Agenda

Contributed Posters

Registration

Accomodations

Travel

Audiovisual Equipment

Contacts

Announcing the Second Workshop:

September 29- October 2, 2002
Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Supported by the U.S. Geological Survey and a grant from the National Oceanographic Partnership Program.

Background

The ability to predict the transport and long-term fate of particles in the ocean is essential in addressing a variety of issues related to commerce, defense, and the quality of the marine environment. For example, remediation of contaminated sediments, siting of sewage outfalls, evaluation of past and future disposal sites, burial of mines or archaeological artifacts, transport and fate of biological particles, and evaluation of the impacts of climate change and coastal development all require an understanding of the transport and fate of sediment under varying hydrodynamic, physical, and biological conditions. Numerical models can provide a framework within which to synthesize our understanding of sediment transport processes in complex systems. They are also useful as a test bed for emerging sediment-transport algorithms, and to provide realistic settings for biological and geochemical models. To fully realize the power of numerical modeling in coastal environments, sediment transport models need to be linked directly to hydrodynamic circulation models. Although researchers from federal agencies, academia, and private industry are actively pursuing this goal, there is no community sediment transport model for the coastal oceanographic environment. Establishment of publicly available, well-tested, and widely accepted models, along with documentation and test cases, would greatly benefit the ocean research and management communities and the nation.

The USGS funded a small project to promote community sediment-transport modeling effort in 1999, and hosted the first workshop in June 2000. The workshop, held in Woods Hole, was attended by 55 scientists and engineers, and laid groundwork for this project. The concept of a community modeling system was strongly endorsed by the attendees, who also recommended expansion of the model community, a review of suitable hydrodynamic models, and establishment of model test cases. Attendees also recommended that additional funding be pursued and the USGS was deemed an appropriate institution to support the initial steps. One of the first tasks of this project was to host a community-model workshop, where a group of more than 60 scientists discussed issues surrounding coastal modeling. The results of that meeting are summarized in "Sherwood, C. R., R. P. Signell, C. K. Harris, and B. Butman, 2000, Workshop Discusses Community Models for Coastal Sediment. EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 81(43):502", or USGS Report on Community Sediment Transport Model Workshop).

In 2001, NOPP awarded a grant to the USGS and WHOI to begin planning for a community sediment transport model. Funding was provided to establish a conceptual framework for model development, perform trial runs with available candidate models, enhance and maintain a web site for exchange of information, and host further scientific and planning meeting. We convened a special session at the AGU/ASLO Ocean Sciences 2002 Meeting titled and we also hosted a Town Meeting to report on progress and discuss issues related to the community modeling approach.

Objectives

The goals of this Workshop are 1) to review our progress toward establishing community modeling systems for coastal sediment transport, and 2) establish research priorities for future progress. Specifically, we would like to highlight science that has been achieved with open-source models, and list the modelling infrastructure and scientific research work that, if supported by a funding agency like NOPP, would best meet the needs of the community. Specific products of this meeting will be:

1. A concept paper (white paper) describing the community goals and strategy for achieving them.
2. A prioritized list of activities that will produce model code, test cases, documentation, support, and other infrastructure to meet the community model goals as we have defined them.
3. A prioritized list of scientific questions or research topics that must be supported if we are to advance our understanding of (and ability to model) particle transport in the coastal ocean.

Taken together, these products will provide the framework for developing an integrated modeling system with funding from NOPP.

Who Should Attend

All those interested in shaping an ambitious program to advance community-supported, open-source models for use on both scientific and applied problems associated with circulation and sediment transport in the coastal ocean.

Agenda

Contributed Posters and Model Animations

We have limited time to complete the program framework and priorities, so we encourage attendees to bring posters describing scientific results with open-source models or defining critical scientific or modeling priorities. Please provide a title with your registration.

We will have a model animation "Film Festival" Tuesday afternoon. Short (10 minute) presentations centered on animations of model field measurement results are invited. Bring your animation on a CD.

Registration

Deadline for registration was September 10, 2002. For late registration, e-mail Patricia (Soupy) Alexander (palexander@usgs.gov). Please also provide her with a title for your poster, if you plan to bring one. Rooms at the meeting hotel may still be available (see below).

Accommodations

The meeting will be held at the Williamsburg Hospitality House, across the street from The College of William and Mary and two blocks from Colonial Williamsburg. We ask that you stay there if possible, because we get a discount on meeting rooms and catering. Room rates are $99 (plus tax) for single occupancy and $109 (plus tax) for double occupancy.

To reserve a room, contact:

Williamsburg Hospitality House
415 Richmond Road
Williamsburg, Virginia USA 23185-3536
Phone: +1 757 229-4020 Fax: +1 757 220-1560
800-932-9192 (toll free for reservations)

Specify you plan to attend the "NOPP Meeting". Reservations will require one-night deposit; cancellation or changes in arrival or departure date require 72 hours notice.

Travel

Use exit 238 (Rte. 143) from Interstate I-64. Local airports are Norfolk, Richmond, and Newport News-Williamsburg. The Amtrak station is two blocks from the Hospitality House.

Driving directions to the Williamsburg Hospitality House may be found at http://www.williamsburghosphouse.com/location.htm, or by using Mapquest (the address of the hotel is listed above).

Audiovisual Equipment

Computers (Windows OS) with video projectors will be available. We do not plan to provide VHS video monitors. We prefer that you load your talk onto the meeting computer network well in advance of your presentation. Please let Patricia (Soupy) Alexander (palexander@usgs.gov) know if you have special needs (e.g., dual projectors, special animation software, special media, etc.)

Contacts

For more information, contact:
Chris Sherwood, U. S. Geological Survey (csherwood@usgs.gov)
+1 508 457 2269
+1 508 457 2310 (fax)
Rocky Geyer, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (rgeyer@whoi.edu
+1 508 289 2868
+1 508 457 2194 (fax)
Courtney Harris, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (ckharris@vims.edu)
+1 804 684 7194