Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/T009004/1
Field Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (FSPIV) system for high-resolution in-situ studies of freshwater and marine ecosystems
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr SM Cameron, University of Aberdeen, Engineering
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor B Scott, University of Aberdeen, Inst of Biological and Environmental Sci
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor C Soulsby, University of Aberdeen, Sch of Geosciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor V Nikora, University of Aberdeen, Engineering
- Grant held at:
- University of Aberdeen, Engineering
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Earth
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Science Topics:
- Biodiversity
- Ecosystem function
- Environmental stressors
- Freshwater communities
- Habitat modification
- Invasive species
- Marine communities
- Conservation Ecology
- Adaptation
- Biodiversity conservation
- Community structure
- Conservation management
- Ecosystem function
- Habitat change
- Invasive species
- Land use change
- Organic farming
- Species diversity
- Ecohydrology
- Flow pathways
- Hyporheic processes
- Hydrological Processes
- Water resources
- Ecosystem management
- Freshwater ecosystems
- Marine renewable energy
- Species response
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Anthropogenic pressures
- Biodiversity
- Coastal ecosystems
- Conservation
- Ecosystem function
- Anthropogenic pressures
- Biodiversity
- Coastal ecosystems
- Conservation
- Ecosystem function
- Ecosystem management
- Freshwater ecosystems
- Marine renewable energy
- Species response
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Community Ecology
- Benthic communities
- Abstract:
- Field stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (FSPIV) will enable 3-component high-resolution instantaneous velocity measurements in natural aquatic environments with measurement fields covering an area up to 1.0 m by 0.5 m and sampling rates up to 200 Hz. In addition to recording flow fields, FSPIV can simultaneously capture information on biota in the sampling region using the same hardware, for example, the motion of aquatic plants, or the trajectories of swimming fish. There are no international analogues to the proposed system; it will be a world-first of its kind. Key concepts of this technology have been developed and successfully tested by the research group in Aberdeen (Cameron 2011; Cameron et al., 2013; Biggs et al. 2019). The new system will be assembled based on this experience and will substantially enhance current capability in terms of portability, flexibility in operating conditions, and key performance characteristics such as field-of-view, spatial and time resolution, and measurement accuracy. The new FSPIV system will consist of a lightweight submersible head unit containing eight digital cameras and light-sheet-forming optical components connected by a 30m long umbilical to a control station consisting of a pulsed laser, image capture and storage device, and a portable electric generator. The control station may be mounted, for example, on a river bank, a beach, or in a boat. The umbilical connecting the head unit with the control station will protect the power and data cables for the cameras along with a bundle of fibre optic cables to deliver the laser energy to the measurement region. The head unit may be used in a number of configurations maximising deployment flexibility, e.g. skimming the water surface in shallow rivers or fully submersed in deeper rivers, estuaries or marine environments. The high sensitivity of modern sCMOS cameras allows a relatively low intensity light sheet to be used which is completely harmless and non-invasive to wildlife. The proposed FSPIV system surpasses the capabilities of conventional field measurement techniques in that the instantaneous measurement region covers a large 2-dimensional flow area while maintaining approximately 1 mm spatial resolution, whereas more commonly deployed techniques have comparatively coarser resolution and are limited to 1-D (along a line) or single point measurements. With eight cameras covering the FSPIV measurement domain, redundant estimates of velocity components allow low noise statistical estimates with uncertainties comparable to the best available laboratory devices. The additional capability provided by FSPIV is vital for 'next generation' research studies in freshwater and coastal environments. The FSPIV system will, for example, be used to study interactions between turbulence and aquatic plants or the flow fields around swimming fish in their natural environment. Such studies are inherently cross-disciplinary and bridge the established fields of aquatic ecology, biomechanics, and environmental fluid mechanics (e.g. Nikora 2010). The combination of a multi-disciplinary approach drawing on the collective experience of a national management group and international advisory panel with state-of-the-art world-leading technology should secure transformative changes in current understanding of the natural environment. Biggs, H., Nikora, V., Gibbins, C., Cameron, S. et al., 2019. Journal of Ecohydraulics, 1-18. Cameron, S., 2011. Journal of Hydro-Environment Research, 5(4), 247-262. Cameron, S., Nikora, V. et al., 2013. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 732, 345-372. Nikora, V. 2010. River Research and Applications, 26, 367-384. Nikora, V., Cameron, S., et al., 2012. Environmental Fluid Mechanics: Memorial Volume in Honour of Prof. Gerhard H. Jirka, 217-235.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/T009004/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Capital
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Capital Call
This grant award has a total value of £289,055
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Equipment |
|---|
| £289,055 |
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