Studies of Lagrangian modeling techniques with applications to deep ocean carbon sequestration

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2008.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Israelsson, Peter H. (Peter Hampus), 1973-
Other Authors: E. Eric Adams.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/52766
_version_ 1811072965415010304
author Israelsson, Peter H. (Peter Hampus), 1973-
author2 E. Eric Adams.
author_facet E. Eric Adams.
Israelsson, Peter H. (Peter Hampus), 1973-
author_sort Israelsson, Peter H. (Peter Hampus), 1973-
collection MIT
description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2008.
first_indexed 2024-09-23T09:24:51Z
format Thesis
id mit-1721.1/52766
institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology
language eng
last_indexed 2024-09-23T09:24:51Z
publishDate 2010
publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology
record_format dspace
spelling mit-1721.1/527662019-04-12T07:28:23Z Studies of Lagrangian modeling techniques with applications to deep ocean carbon sequestration Israelsson, Peter H. (Peter Hampus), 1973- E. Eric Adams. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Civil and Environmental Engineering. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2008. This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. Includes bibliographical references. This thesis consists of four separate studies which explore the use of random walk particle tracking (RWPT) in simulating environmental mass transport. Two of the studies also consider the efficacy and marine impact of ocean CO2 sequestration by direct injection. The first study compares RWPT to two other simple Lagrangian techniques (forward and backward Gaussian puff tracking) to simulate mixing beyond the near field of a pollutant discharge. RWPT is found to be more accurate, but also more computationally expensive, thus motivating hybrid approaches where Lagrangian calculations transition to Eulerian schemes in the far field. The second study considers 1D RWPT when strong gradients in ambient diffusivity exist. For step profiles, the work of past investigators is unified and extended, and the Thomson et al. (1997) particle reflection approach is recommended. For piecewise linear profiles, a novel and efficient particle reflection with probability translation approach is proposed. The third study implements RWPT to emulate the tracer transport of an ocean general circulation model (OGCM) using the OGCM's flow and diffusivity fields. A high level of agreement between RWPT and OGCM results is achieved. Particle reflection with probability translation successfully handled sharply varying vertical diffusivities. However, precisely mimicking OGCM calculations proved difficult due to complications in specifying the subgrid scale variation of isopycnal slope and diffusivity in steeply sloped or convectively unstable regions, and in accurately implementing the Gent-McWilliams eddy-induced transport. (cont.) Further development is recommended to resolve spurious upwelling occurring mainly in the Southern Ocean. The utility of RWPT is demonstrated by calculating domain-wide CO2 sequestration efficiencies using a novel book-keeping method. Additional RWPT benefits to oceanographic investigation are also proposed. The fourth study updates the Auerbach et al. (1997) and Caulfield et al. (1997) joint assessment of acute environmental impact to zooplankton resulting from ocean CO2 discharges. Acute toxicity data are used to estimate the cumulative harm accrued by passive organisms drifting through idealized CO2 plumes generated by three promising discharge methods. Results suggest that discharges can be engineered to largely avoid acute impacts, and that ocean carbon sequestration should not be dismissed on the basis of environmental impact alone. by Peter Hampus Israelsson. Ph.D. 2010-03-24T20:35:30Z 2010-03-24T20:35:30Z 2008 2008 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/52766 503139127 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 469 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Israelsson, Peter H. (Peter Hampus), 1973-
Studies of Lagrangian modeling techniques with applications to deep ocean carbon sequestration
title Studies of Lagrangian modeling techniques with applications to deep ocean carbon sequestration
title_full Studies of Lagrangian modeling techniques with applications to deep ocean carbon sequestration
title_fullStr Studies of Lagrangian modeling techniques with applications to deep ocean carbon sequestration
title_full_unstemmed Studies of Lagrangian modeling techniques with applications to deep ocean carbon sequestration
title_short Studies of Lagrangian modeling techniques with applications to deep ocean carbon sequestration
title_sort studies of lagrangian modeling techniques with applications to deep ocean carbon sequestration
topic Civil and Environmental Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/52766
work_keys_str_mv AT israelssonpeterhpeterhampus1973 studiesoflagrangianmodelingtechniqueswithapplicationstodeepoceancarbonsequestration