Project Overview

In January 2018, Dr. Tamay Özgökmen at University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, was awarded an RFP-VI grant totaling $5,999,451 to lead the GoMRI project entitled “Consortium for Advanced Research on Transport of Hydrocarbons in the Environment III (CARTHE-III)” which consisted of 13 collaborative institutions and approximately 48 research team members (including students).

 

CARTHE III research program had four main objectives:

• Analyze and synthesize CARTHE I–II observational, experimental and model data.
• Leverage analysis to inform, constrain and better parameterize prediction models.
• Further develop observational and modeling technology for oil spills.
• Extend understanding and modeling of multi-phase subsurface hydrocarbon transport.

 

The work proposed for CARTHE-III solidified GoMRI’s legacy of rapid scientific and technological advances. The synthesis of the unprecedented collection of data from CARTHE I–II with operational numerical models lead to paradigm shifts in the understanding of the role of submesoscales in surface ocean transport. Improved multi- phase plume observations and modeling shed light on the subsurface processes. The insights from this coordinated research effort ultimately resulted in more accurate predictions of hydrocarbon transport in the environment. This was a crucial element for aiding future oil spill planning and response. CARTHE’s technological advances also ensured future access to high-resolution critical observations.

 

Outreach Highlights

As of June 30, 2020, CARTHE-III research team members have participated in more than 100 outreach related activities including: school presentations, invited talks, blogs and other social media engagement, news articles and more. Here are a few of our key outreach products and activities:

• A Special Issue of the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) Journal Current featured 7 peer-reviewed articles on GoMRI research written for teachers and informal educators, and included lesson plans based on the research. CARTHE contributed to 3 of these articles as well as the development of the issue concept.
  
  
• The Biscayne Bay Drift Card Study (Bay Drift) was a multi-year citizen science project in which over 1000 PK-12 students, families, and volunteers prepared, released, and reported wooden drift cards in order to better understand the local ocean currents in South Florida (in Biscayne Bay and later expanding to Lake Worth Lagoon). This program also included presentations in schools, hands-on field experiences, and tours of partner organization’s facilities, predominantly for under resourced schools. The results of the study can be seen in a user-friendly, interactive StoryMap. Overall the project received community wide support and increased the awareness of CARTHE and GoMRI research.
  
  
• CARTHE partnered with the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science regularly through the duration of the award to reach new audiences and share our research in multiple ways: presented to Frost Summer Campers, scholars in the IMPACT Upward Bound program, and museum members during their Earth Day event; Frost hosted Bay Drift releases at their site; a new display is being developed featuring CARTHE research and instrument development.
  
  
• CARTHE faculty, staff, and students helped coordinate and presented at 4 Professional Development workshops for teachers, as well as presented to educators at the National Marine Educators Association and Florida Marine Science Educators Association conferences in order to reach a larger number of students through their teachers. 

 

Research Highlights 

As of June 30, 2020, this project’s research resulted in 27 peer-reviewed publications, 67 scientific presentations, and 14 datasets being submitted to the GoMRI Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), which are/will be made available to the public. The project also engaged 12 PhD and 3 Masters students over its award period.

Significant outcomes of this project’s research are highlighted below.

 

a)  Oil spill related research expertise gained during the CARTHE research program directly applies to other pressing environmental problems, such as plastics in the ocean, spreading of red tides, Sargassum problem in the Caribbean, and air-sea exchange across frontal zones for the climate change problem.

b)  Data assimilation schemes and model development priorities at Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) prediction group were significantly improved.

c)  Understanding is developed by atmospheric scientists that the ocean is important, by oceanographers that atmosphere is important, and realization by both that waves are really important for many transport problems of socio-economic relevance. These previously distinct groups finally intersection and worked together.

d)  Jet Propulsion Lab of NASA has tested a new instrument (DopplerScatt) during CARTHE experiments and is organizing a 5-year program to develop it further for future satellite missions. The instrument measures ocean’s surface currents from aircraft (hopefully orbit in the future) and was evaluated with large numbers of drifters.

e)  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded a massive distributed floating sensor network program, called Oceans of Things (OoT), aiming at launching 50k sensors at target locations of interest. Initial deployments were made in Southern California and Gulf of Mexico. The feasibility of OoT was mainly inspired and supported by CARTHE drifter programs. This program is currently transitioning to its Phase-2.

f)  Office of Naval Research (ONR) experiments started containing large numbers of drifters (from zero a decade ago) because the ability of expensive Lagrangian instruments to track rapidly-evolving ocean features without aliasing was demonstrated conclusively during CARTHE program and associated publications.

g)  Department of Defense (DoD) initiated a major program on machine learning for ocean forecasting and exploration, in which GoMRI/CARTHE data will be one of the key resources. In that sense, the visionary steps taken by GRIIDC data collection program will stimulate much future research and advance, because it is accessible to other scientists beyond the data collectors through the GoMRI program.

h)  The entire CARTHE program resulted in 207 peer-reviewed scientific publications, in 61 different journals, by 406 unique authors, that received 4017 citations to date. In addition, 3 patents have been obtained for instrument and software development.