You are here

CMOP M.S. student Nathaniel Hyde defends thesis

Nate Hyde thesis defense

CMOP M.S. student, Nathaniel Hyde, defended his thesis: Toward National Estuarine Modeling and Characterization/Classification Systems: A Pilot Study for Coos Bay. His committee included his Research Advisor, Antonio M. Baptista, as well as Karen Watanabe, Internal Examiner; Parker MacCready, University of Washington;
and Steven Rumrill, University of Oregon and Oregon State University

Nathaniel (Nate) Hyde received his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 1993, and a B.S. in Computer Science from Portland State University in 2002, both with honors. He worked as a software engineer prior to entering the M.S. program in Environmental Science and Engineering (Environmental Information Technology track) in Fall 2003.

Thesis Abstract:

Coastal ecosystems are inadequately understood in the context of increasing stresses from a combination of anthropogenic sources, natural variability and global climate change. Estuarine Modeling Systems (EMS) seek to advance knowledge of estuarine and near-shore circulation by combining observations, 3D numerical simulations, and data products. The Rapid Deployment Forecasting System (RDFS) has been conceived in order to facilitate the expansion of EMS. RDFS involves the quick deployment of model-based forecasting systems, which can be then be leveraged into high quality EMS. A pilot Coos Bay Estuary RDFS has been launched and developed towards a full fledged EMS. Through this development the opportunities and obstacles in the RDFS to EMS process are investigated.

With the spread of EMS comes the opportunity to re-visit and expand fundamental understanding of estuarine processes, including extended ability to conduct comparisons across estuaries. A newly conceived model-based estuarine characterization and classification system (MECCS) uses EMS to provide effective logistical means to hypothesize, to classify and to contrast estuarine behavior. At the core of MECCS is the filtering of simulation EMS databases, using mostly classical definitions of a range of dimensionless numbers and classification parameters. A pilot MECCS associated with the pilot Coos Bay EMS has been developed. Initial characterization and classification numbers focus on traditional parameters associated with stratification and circulation, as well as parameters associated with estuarine flushing.