Measurements of 3-D Circulation and Particles Dispersion in Skagit Bay from Lagrangian Drifters
Abstract
The long-term scientific objective of this proposal is to study the hydrodynamics of near-shore environments using novel instrumentation and techniques. Special focus is on the spatial structure of the flow that dominates erosion, transport, and dispersion processes. We also aim to provide a methodology to test the validity of numerical simulations. The first objective is to develop an efficient sampling scheme to measure the flow in the shallow estuarine and coastal environments and to provide the partners of the project with three-dimensional circulation data and horizontal dispersion estimates of the particles in the surface flow. This includes gaining operational experience on deploying and recovering an array of River Drifters (RD) as well as identifying the optimal set of mission parameters of the RD in different environmental conditions. The second objective is to measure the flow in the plume of the Tijuana River as well as the circulation in the adjacent coastal sea. To achieve our first objective, we targeted RD deployments during significant rain events at the mouth of the Tijuana River, off La Jolla, and in northern Italy. To achieve our second objective, we coordinated our deployment efforts with other project participants, both from the numerical modeling community and from the observational community.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA527065
Entities
People
- Luca R. Centurioni
- Pearn P. Niiler
Organizations
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography