FRESNEL - Field expeRiments for modEling, aSsimilatioN and adaptivE sampLing
Abstract
The coastal ocean shapes the two-way interaction between the deepocean/ocean basins and the coastal populations and human societies., Theydetermine how anthropogenic influences originating from the continentsare redistributed, while impacting the maritime environme,nt. Coastalocean processes directly impact and influence how humans interact withthe oceans, whether for civilian maritime needs suc,h as fishing,recreation or extraction of minerals, or for security and dual-use needsrelated to monitoring and surveillance. It is c,ritical for us tounderstand and ultimately predict the evolution of the differentprocesses in this dynamic environment. Yet our pred,ictability andconsequent understanding of this complex environment has been lagging inpart because sufficient inter-disciplinary stu,dies across biology andphysics have been lacking, in part because of tools and methods have notbeen fully brought to bear on arguabl,y a difficult domain to work in.FRESNEL proposes to to close the observe-assimilate-predict-sample loopby demonstrating the applicab,ility of adaptively controlled marinerobots in the aerial, surface and underwater domains, while samplingthe upper water-column at,the right place and time driven byocean models with increasing predictive skill. In doing so, we wish toincrease predictive skill o,f ocean models, leverage advances inArtificial Intelligence and decision-making, robotics and bring tobear recent advances in Machin,e Learning for adaptation andprediction. FRESNEL involves a diverse group of seasoned researchersworking across traditional discipli,nary boundaries. The tightintegration between model prediction and assimilation that we foreseeoccurring as part of this effort, wil,l be enhanced so as to providerealistic forecasts of a range of biophysical variables includingtemperature, salinity, wind, surface,and subsurface currents andbio-optical properties. These in turn will be used to intelligentlytarget sampling with these multi-domai,n platforms in the air, oceansurface and underwater, augmented by satellite remote sensingincluding from a recently launched multi-s,pectral sensor on a SmallSatellite.The novelty of this proposed effort is in the integrative aspects of afield exercise which will a,llow FRESNEL to leap-frog experimentaldesign, autonomous operations, assimilation, modeling and predictionin ways not done before. T,he project will outreach substantially withlocal authorities, subsistence fishermen and an NGO in the domain ofoperation in Nazare,,Portugal and engage local middle and high-schoolstudents, along the lines of previous such field experiments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 06, 2022
- Source ID
- N000142212796
Entities
People
- Jo Borges De Sousa
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Porto