What am I studying? I've been asking myself this question as I develop an independent study this semester, with little pressure from my advisors. And to answer it, I've been trying to return to why I'm in graduate school in the first place: to develop some skills at the intersection of what I find interesting and what what I see as necessary for the world.
Well, I've always found fluid mechanics fascinating. This interest started with a love for the descriptive power of partial differential equations, grew with recognition of their epistemological difficulty, and, now that I'm a bit of a surf bum, blends with a love for splashing in the ocean.
And what's necessary? Finding ways to exist under climate change, of course. Hydrology will be critically important as meteorology becomes more volatile and glaciers melt. Between extreme precipitation and sea level rise, our landforms are going to start shifting around faster than we anticipate.
Tectonics take the lead, but sediment accumulation by fluid transport is the second major way that landforms are made (whether anthropogenic or natural). How do we account for the sediment necessary to make and maintain landforms under a changing climate? How do we manage infrastructure towards healthy sediment dynamics?
These are question I'm hoping to dive into. There are long-term (geologic) and short-term (flood insurance) implications of the morphology afforded by sediment budgets. Additionally, much to the joy of an applied mathematician, the opportunity to bring statistical records, observational insights, and analytical models together for mutual cross-validation.
Short newsletter this week, but something I wanted to share.
Saltating,
Lukas
Well, I've always found fluid mechanics fascinating. This interest started with a love for the descriptive power of partial differential equations, grew with recognition of their epistemological difficulty, and, now that I'm a bit of a surf bum, blends with a love for splashing in the ocean.
And what's necessary? Finding ways to exist under climate change, of course. Hydrology will be critically important as meteorology becomes more volatile and glaciers melt. Between extreme precipitation and sea level rise, our landforms are going to start shifting around faster than we anticipate.
Tectonics take the lead, but sediment accumulation by fluid transport is the second major way that landforms are made (whether anthropogenic or natural). How do we account for the sediment necessary to make and maintain landforms under a changing climate? How do we manage infrastructure towards healthy sediment dynamics?
These are question I'm hoping to dive into. There are long-term (geologic) and short-term (flood insurance) implications of the morphology afforded by sediment budgets. Additionally, much to the joy of an applied mathematician, the opportunity to bring statistical records, observational insights, and analytical models together for mutual cross-validation.
Short newsletter this week, but something I wanted to share.
Saltating,
Lukas