GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Office of Naval Research is awarding the University of Florida $7.5 million to study and map coastal mud flats — wide areas of muddy land that form near coastlines and can pose serious risks to both locals and travelers.
The goal of the project is to support safer military operations and improve emergency response efforts in these challenging environments.
“These mud flats can be generally hard, soft, or a mix of both,” said Nina Stark, a UF professor and the lead researcher on the project. “We have some ideas about the processes that govern these characteristics, and we expect they vary by latitude. But we don’t fully understand them yet.”
The team hopes to identify and map safe routes across these unpredictable areas to make navigation easier and safer.
Researchers plan their first major data collection effort this winter in Cedar Key.