MRI Consortium: Development of CCPflex – A multi-function, modular platform for next-generation Conductivity Concentration Profilers

This award will develop next-generation Conductivity Concentration Profiler, CCPflex, systems for monitoring changes in the Earth's surface and surface dynamics in coastal, ocean, and marine settings. The instruments will be housed in the coastal engineering facilities at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) and the University of Delaware, available to the research community through a proven shared-use model for use in field and/or laboratory applications. Design, testing, and manufacturing will be executed via partnerships with industry leaders in custom oceanographic instrumentation and software development. State-of-the-art printed circuit board manufacturing technologies will be utilized to produce the miniaturized measurement probes. This project will enable transformative new research across a range of topics including coastal storm impacts, coastal aquifers, and environmental monitoring. Knowledge gained from research conducted using CCPflex systems will lead to improved predictive coastal flood mapping, better inform evacuation orders ahead of coastal storms, and aid in the development of resilient coastal communities. This project will train the next-generation of applied engineers and scientists through undergraduate involvement during the development process at UNCW – a predominantly undergraduate institution. The project team will actively recruit students from historically under-represented groups within STEM fields. Units involving CCPflex will be incorporated into the researcher's STEM high school outreach program, 'Making Waves in the Classroom,' to assist users in understanding how sediment mobilizes on the beach.

The CCPflex system uses electrical conductivity to directly measure the porosity profile of a fluid-sediment mixture, which is inversely related to the sediment concentration profile. CCPflex will be capable of quantifying coastal sediment transport processes in the highly concentrated near-bed region, which is known to contribute significantly to the overall geomorphic change near the coast. The breakthrough modular 'plug-and-play' design provides a wide array of deployment and sampling configurations to the end-user, significantly broadening the scope of applications. The design criteria are driven by the needs of a diverse community of coastal scientists. Groundbreaking probe design will include simultaneous interface tracking capabilities for extended applications in ocean surface dynamics and groundwater studies. Instantaneous near-bed sediment concentration profiles at up to 50 Hz at millimeter vertical resolution will advance the understanding of how turbulent flow (e.g., beneath a breaking wave) contributes to the overall sediment transport at sandy beaches. CCPflex systems will be suitable for deployment in conditions ranging from grain-scale sediment transport small laboratory studies to highly energetic field campaigns (e.g., hurricane landfall).

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.