PhD Defense Announcement: Austin Scott Hudson

The CEE Department is pleased to announce Austin Scott Hudson's PhD Defense: "Tidal Bed Stress Asymmetry and Sediment Transport in Estuaries"

Date: Monday, October 16th, 2023Time: 1:00 PMLocation: In-person in FMH 464 or Virtual via Zoom: pdx.zoom.us/j/8679294073, password hpegAdvisor: Dr. David JayAbstract: "Rivers and estuaries provide numerous ecological, economic, and cultural resources. The value of these resources is greatly influenced by sediment transport processes, which can be affected by human activities and climate variability. A key driver of sediment transport in tidal rivers and estuaries is tidal asymmetry of bed stress. In this study, an analytical framework is developed to examine and describe the dynamics of bed stress asymmetry. Application of the framework to observations in real systems suggests that bed stress asymmetry can contribute to particle trapping, channel shoaling, and may even act as a filter or seasonal barrier for sediment moving through an estuary. The framework clarifies how bed stress varies over months, years and even decades due to low frequency tidal motions. These low frequency oscillations are generated by tidal interactions that are not typically considered when studying sediment transport, but the framework helps identify and characterize how they contribute to spatial/temporal variability of bed stress and transport."