Near-Shore Hydrodynamic Conditions and Chemical Plume Tracking
Abstract
We characterize the hydrodynamic conditions relevant to a bottom source plume in a nearshore environment. Analyzing a dye concentration data set collected by a state of the art autonomous underwater vehicle and fixed hydrodynamic measurements, we quantify the meandering and lateral dispersion of a plume. We find that both processes are important to ultimate plume fate and transport. The lateral dispersion is governed by a scale-dependent processes that is driven by three-dimensional turbulence in the near field and two-dimensional turbulence in the far field. This project also demonstrates the importance of wave-induced transport in the near shore. We find that it can be significant at times and must be used to supplement measured Eulerian transport in order to accurately model cross-stream plume transport. Finally, we evaluate the accuracy of a bottom-racked acoustic Doppler current profiler and show that in certain circumstances, there is the potential for a bias error.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 22, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA426029
Entities
People
- Derek Fong
- Stephen Monismith
Organizations
- Stanford University