MURI Towards an integrative understanding of near-surface seabed structure and stability in the deep sea
Abstract
Increasing use of deep-sea environments for naval applications, natural resources exploration and mining, and engineering activities associated with globalconnectivity and communication, and potentially CO2 removal require understanding of the geomechanical and geochemical properties of near-surface sediments. Deep ocean exploration, however, is typically limited to sparse areas and limited disciplinary scopes, rather than the cross disciplinaryunderstanding of the deep ocean environment needed for these applications. Forexample, geotechnical measurements are typically restricted to client-driven industry explorations with narrow investigation focus and often with no public data availability. Biological investigations are typically focused on exploration of biodiversity. Infauna are known to be #ecosystem engineers# whose activities modify geotechnical and geoacoustic properties, yet these impacts and the drivers of biological activity are poorly understood, leading to potentially significant uncertainties in our predictive capabilities of deep ocean seafloor behavior. Acoustic remote sensing of the seafloor can be used to map large areas, but acoustic metrics, which are related to seabed sound speed, reflectivity, and surface or volume scattering, are not well connected to seabed deformation and stability processes or other geotechnical characteristics. We propose an interdisciplinary research project to test the overarching hypothesis that sediment properties, critical for seabed geomechanics and transport, are a function of the organic matter inputs from the overlying water column that fuel microbial and macrofaunal processes at the sediment-water interface. We propose to test this hypothesis through geoacoustic characterization and mapping, geotechnical site characterization, biological investigation of infaunaas ecosystem engineers, and biogeochemical characterization of the transport and processing of organic matter in the benthic boundary layer, i.e., the region of ocean immediately above and below the sediment-water interface that is influenced by that boundary. The results will represent a leap forward in our understanding of seafloor surface conditions and processes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 08, 2024
- Source ID
- N000142412473
Entities
People
- Peter Berg
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Virginia