My research topic is related to eco-hydraulics and sediment transport. The primary objective of this research is to investigate how vegetated two-stage channels can be used to improve water quality through managing sediment and nutrient processes. The research is related to other projects led by Dr. Juha Järvelä and Dr. Kaisa Västiä who instruct my research. The research is supervised by Prof. Hari Koivusalo.

The research goal is to improve the understanding of transport and sedimentation processs within natural vegetated channels. The aim is to i) quantify tranport and depositional rates of fine sediment within vegetated channels under different flow conditions, plant structures and channel geometry, ii) conceptualise flow structures and suspended sediment transport processes, iii) test conceptualizations and parameterizations in hydraulic and morphological models, and iv) provide guidance on design and management of vegetated channels.

Throughout my research I use a combination of experimental, numerical hydraulic modelling and field investigations. The experiments are carried out in the available Environmental Hydraulics Lab. Here we investigate main flow structures in natural like reconstructed compound channels with flexible vegetation and focus on advection and lateral mixing of sediments between un-vegetated and vegetated parts of the channel. We investigate turbulence structures and quantify turbulence intensities. We use optical turbidity sensors to measure suspended sediment concentrations and measure net deposition by a weight based approaches. Collected data from the experiments are used for the development of methods and models for predicting sediment, nutrient and pollutant transport and deposition in vegetated flows.

During later stages of the research numerical modelling approaches of real case scenarios in combination with field investigations are useful to test, point out limitations, upscale and validate conceptualisations of observed transport processes. Finally, these scientific results are useful for design and practical management of vegetated floodplains and compound channels.