Under the study area of Environmental Engineering there are there possible areas of concentration; Environmental Processes, Environmental & Water Resources Systems Engineering and Environmental Fluid Mechanics & Hydrology. It should be noted that some of the design projects described are often collaborative and students from more than one concentration are involved. One example of this collaborative effort is the AguaClara project.
The primary objective of this area is to achieve a better understanding of the physical processes of fluid motions in the environment. The research philosophy puts equal emphasis on experimental studies, including both laboratory (centered in the DeFrees Hydraulics Laboratory) and field investigations, and the development of analytical solutions and advanced computing techniques. Current research topics include breaking waves and nearshore processes; wave-structure interactions; tsunamis; air-sea exchange processes; the transport and fate of contaminants in the nearshore environment; lake mixing; transport and circulation; measurement technologies; hydrologic phenomena, such as land surface processes, earth-atmosphere interactions, infiltration, and groundwater.
AguaClara is an award winning, multi-year international engineering project in CEE that makes it possible for M.Eng. students to contribute to the research, design, and implementation of Sustainable Municipal Water Treatment Plants in the Global South. The AguaClara project includes opportunities for a 2 week educational trip to project sites during the January intersession and for 3 month to 2 year international internships as AguaClara Engineers.
Past projects in the EFM/H area have included:
Residence Time Response to Tributary and Lake Ontario Forcing in Blind Sodus Bay
Hydrologic Study in the Southern Hudson River Basin
Evaluation of Lake Source Cooling Project Intake Pipeline
Possible future projects in the Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Hydrology area are:
Critical Layer Absorption of Internal Gravity Wave Packets: Internal gravity waves are ubiquitous in the ocean, lakes and atmosphere. When an internal wave packet encounters a current with speed comparable to the group velocity of the waves, distinct instabilities develop that lead to significant turbulence and mixing that need to be parameterized in larger-scale atmosphere/ocean circulation models. This project will investigate the dependence of primary instability structure and energetics on increasing Reynolds number.
Sea/Lake Floor Excitation by the Coupling of Penetrative Convection and Internal Waves: Penetrative convection occurs in coastal and lake waters due to surface cooling, particularly in the early morning. Standing long internal waves develop at the level of the thermocline (a localized region of sharp temperature gradient, approx. 10m below the surface) through the effect of convective roller motions. This project will examine the generation of resuspension events through the pressure fields impressed on the bottom by the slowly oscillating standing waves.
