VEGMIX - a new OPUS project in the Hydrology and Hydrodynamics Department
We are very happy to announce that Assoc. Prof. Eng. Monika Kalinowska from the Department of Hydrology and Hydrodynamics IGF PAN has won a grant in the NCN OPUS 27 competition. She will be implementing a research project entitled "VEGMIX: Influence of vegetation on flow and mixing in small open channels (VEGMIX) - from lab to real world".
OPUS is a competition for research projects intended for scientists at all stages of their scientific careers.
The main goal of VEGMIX is to elucidate the influence of vegetation on the flow and mixing in small open channels. The project will engage a range of activities: field studies, including tracer tests, with the use of a special, environmentally safe dye, remote sensing, laboratory measurements, data analysis and interpretation, as well as numerical computations and simulations to determine the impact of vegetation coverage on the processes taking place in the channel. The influence of vegetation will be assessed for various possible flow values and different vegetation coverage conditions by determination of several parameters representing both the flow and the mixing processes. Determination of the coefficients of the so-called longitudinal dispersion and their dependence on the vegetation coverage seems to be the crucial task. These coefficients are the most important and at the same time, the most difficult to determine factors characterising the processes of mixing and spreading the dissolved substance in water.
This is the first time when the project field campaigns are planned for such a large scale for naturally vegetated channels. The innovative aspect of these field campaigns lies in their transition “from the lab to the real world. It’s a significant step forward in bridging the gap between controlled laboratory settings and the complexities of natural environments – emphasizes Prof. Monika Kalinowska, the project coordinator.
The analysis of the influence of vegetation on the flow can be useful in preparing water strategies under changing climatic conditions, especially for the maintenance of vegetation in agricultural channels. Analyses of different channel maintenance scenarios may help to formulate new maintenance guidelines with the compromises balancing the flood protection needs with the pro-retention activities and protection of water quality.
The project budget is PLN 1,993,440.
We encourage you to read the project summary.
We sincerely congratulate you and wish you success in its implementation!
