Experimental Investigation of Particle and Pollutant Transport in Complex Flows

Experiments are a powerful method to study the kinematic transport of pollutants in the environment, specifically those pollutants transported by turbulent flow. My research thus far has focused on using experiments to characterize the interactions of turbulence, particles, and solutes. Using large-scale facilities, these experiments are able to capture dynamics such as Earth’s atmospheric boundary layer and near-shore coastal processes. In this talk I will first show the experiments and model that I am building to identify the source location for a methane plume from a natural gas leak. I will then connect the transport model approach for methane to seed particle plume transport in the Great Bay Estuary, which I am investigating with an oscillating water tunnel to simulate wave motion over sediment and vegetative beds.

Dr. Theresa B. Oehmke is a Postdoctoral Associate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Hampshire. Oehmke earned a PhD in Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2021 and a BS in Environmental Engineering from MIT in 2015. Oehmke’s research is in Environmental Fluid Mechanics, specifically, the transport of particles and pollutants in turbulence. Current projects include the transport of methane in the atmosphere and the transport of seeds in the Great Bay Estuary. Oehmke’s PhD discussed the rotation and dissolution of non-spherical particles in turbulence.