Project 3:
Medium sized asteroid impact events (300m -1km) would initially cause local-to-regional devastation. However, just like with the case for extreme wildfires, the landscape is damaged and cascading hazards can result when triggered by climatic events, such as precipitation. This project will use physics-based models to characterize the spatial and temporal extent of these cascading hazards.
The work will involve running a suite of physics-based models that solve the shallow-water equations. The results of those model runs will be used to develop an engineering model that can be used to analyze asteroid-induced downstream cascading hazards sensitivity to a range of parameters, including impact location. The student will be expected to work ~10/hrs per week.
This work will result in a peer-reviewed publication. The student will also have an opportunity to present results to the Asteroid Impact Modeling Working Group at one of their semi-annual meetings. In addition, the work for this project will be included in a presentation for the biennial Planetary Defense Conference tentatively planned for May 2025.