Littoral Geosciences and Optics Program

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Littoral Geosciences and Optics program (322LO) combines the former Coastal Geosciences and Environmental Optics programs and will leverage the combined expertise of our investigators to better address the multidisciplinary nature of many new basic research areas. We will continue to support basic and applied research efforts directed at solving nearshore, geoscience, optical and remote sensing problems in addition to new collaborative projects.  Main areas of interest include predicting the 4D coastal environment and predicting seafloor characteristics in the global ocean margins. Areas of interest are motivated by on-going and future Navy and Marine Corps needs, including littoral operations in nearshore, estuarine, and riverine environments; prediction of sediment transport phenomena across a broad spectrum of coastal environments; and assessment of sources of sonar and optical clutter, among many others.

Basic research interests include: 1) nearshore, estuarine and riverine processes, 2) remote sensing of coastal and riverine environments, and 3) sediment transport processes. Studies by individual investigators and collaborative teams are often undertaken in conjunction with other programs at ONR, including the Physical Oceanography, Ocean Engineering and Marine Systems, and Ocean Acoustics programs. Focused, field-oriented research programs are undertaken as Departmental Research Initiatives (DRIs) or as Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives (MURIs), each of which typically has a five-year timeframe and substantial funding for field studies.

On-going Efforts

• River Mouth and Inlet Dynamics DRI (FY10 - FY14):  DRI goals are to develop the capability to model, directly observe and remotely sense the dynamics of constricted river mouth or tidal inlet flows into the ocean, including wave-current interactions, the evolution of morphology, bottom bathymetry and bed roughness, physical processes of tracer dispersion, the use of drifters and unmanned vehicles in energetic environments, and assimilation of in situ and remote sensing observations into predictive models.

ONR announces a new effort: The Inner Shelf – Connecting the Coastal Ocean and the Surf Zone DRI (FY14 - FY18). Planning letters for this DRI are due April 1, 2013 (different than the perennial planning letter call).

The Planning Letter and Proposal Process

The Littoral Geosciences and Optics Program, like many other ONR programs, solicits informal planning letters or pre-proposals from prospective investigators as the first step in the proposal process. The planning letter process efficiently allows researchers to submit ideas for consideration and feedback before preparation of a full proposal. Newcomers to the Littoral Geosciences and Optics program are advised that the program is committed to spending a fixed percentage of core funds each year to bring the very best new investigators on board.

The current Call for Planning Letters solicits research ideas for fiscal years 2014 - 2015 (FY14 begins Oct. 1, 2013). Planning letters, which are desired but not required, are requested to arrive at ONR by Apr. 15, 2013, to ensure full consideration but will still be considered.

Past Projects

• Tidal Flats DRI (FY07 - FY11): Tidal Flats DRI goals are to develop and improve the capability to predict hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics in macrotidal muddy river-estuary-coastal environments; to understand the link between remotely sensed signatures and geotechnical properties of tidal flats; to determine the parameters governing morphologic stability and change; and to determine the relative roles of river- and tidal-driven circulation in determining tidal flat morphology and circulation.
• Wave/Mud Interactions MURI (FY07 - FY11): The Wave/Mud Interactions MURI seeks to understand the various mechanisms of wave dissipation over muds. Remotely-sensed water wave attenuation and diffractive changes in wave direction due to bottom dissipation can provide information about the presence of areas of bottom mud and other bottom properties. 
• Ripples DRI (2003-2008): The Ripples DRI was a five-year basic research program started in 2004 to develop predictive understanding of small-scale ripple morphology and its temporal evolution, including genesis, evolution and decay, in sandy environments across the inner shelf. The initial field experiment offshore Fort Walton Beach, Florida in fall 2004 was conducted in conjunction with the Ocean Acoustics program's SAX04 High Frequency Sediment Acoustics Experiment. A major field experiment was conducted in fall 2007 at the Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory. 
• Mine Burial Prediction Program (1999-2006): The Mine Burial Prediction Program is an applied research program undertaken in conjunction with the Naval Research Laboratory to understand the processes of mine burial by impact, scour, and ripple migration which may induce mine burial in the seafloor. A Mine Burial Expert System resulting from program research has been transitioned to the Naval Oceanographic Office through the Organic Mine Countermeasures FNC. 
• EuroSTRATAFORM (2001-2006): EuroSTRATFORM is an international program involving scientists from North America supported by ONR and European scientists supported by the European Commission to investigate the relationships between active sediment dynamics on the continental shelf, cross-shelf transport and accumulation of sediment, and the preserved stratigraphic record. The initial phase of the EuroSTRATAFORM field experiment in the Adriatic Sea was completed in 2003. The final field phase of the study in the Gulf of Lions was completed in 2005. 
• Nearshore Canyon Experiment (NCEX) (2001-2006): NCEX fieldwork was completed in 2003. Investigators are presently analyzing observations to determine how the abrupt coastal bathymetry of Scripps and La Jolla submarine canyons in southern California affects nearshore processes, including wave propagation, circulation, swash and morphological evolution. 
• NOPP Nearshore Community Model (1998-2005): NearCoM (or Nearshore Community Model) is an extensible, user-configurable model system for nearshore wave, circulation and sediment processes. The model consists of a "backbone", i.e., the master program, handling data input and output as well as internal storage, together with wave, circulation, and seabed modules, each of which handles a focused subset of the physical processes. 
• Sandy Duck 97 Nearshore Field Experiment (1997) 
• Duck 94 Nearshore Field Experiment (1994)