| Affiliations: | |
| Project Leader: | Sarah Trimble trimblesm@tamu.edu Geography |
| Faculty Mentor: | Chris Houser, Ph.D. |
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Meeting Times:
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Fall 2016: Thursday 1:00-2:00 PM |
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Team Size:
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3 (Team Full) |
| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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All significant contributions will be acknowledged with co-authorship on resulting publications. |
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Team Needs:
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GIS/Remote sensing skills, statistics. |
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Description:
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Rip currents, sometimes called rip tides, are concentrated flows of water moving out to sea between breaking waves. They cause hundreds of fatalities worldwide every year and are therefore a global health issue (~100 deaths per year in the US). My dissertation aims to reduce these fatalities by improving signs, warning systems, and rip current prediction models. I am looking for a max of 5 undergraduates with a variety of skills because my dissertation has many types of data, ranging from large multispectral satellite images to tape-recorded interviews with business owners in a small Costa Rican town. All class years are welcome (freshman too!). You only need a basic knowledge (or a desire to learn more) in any one of the following subjects: geology, geography, computer science, modeling, remote sensing, GIS, coastal engineering, statistics, psychology, Spanish… there are many others and all will be useful. We will investigate: (1) developing rip current maps from satellite data, (2) results from interviews with beachgoers, lifeguards, rip current survivors and more, and (3) computer modeling of rip current circulations. Additional research topics may come up throughout the semester. If you want to know more about rip currents, here’s a great website with more information: http://www.scienceofthesurf.com/about.html |