Resolving Complex Flows in a Reef/Island Environment

Abstract

While reef/island areas have traditionally been difficult to sample, new platform and sensor technology afford the opportunity to systematically study the complex flows in and around these systems, and the influence of wind, waves, tides, bottom topography, bottom roughness, and internal waves on these processes. Recent deployments of the REMUS UUV in coastal California waters demonstrate the ability of this platform to operate routinely in very shallow water (VSW) environments, such as ports and harbors and the near shore/surf zone transition. The fine-scale flows will be resolved in conjunction with bottom mapping and characterization and time series measurements. These data will advance our understanding of the forcing mechanisms governing the temporal and spatial in these environments, provide a benchmark data set for testing hydrodynamic models, and provide operational guidance for conducting UUV surveys in regions of complex flows and topography.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 2010
Accession Number
ADA542506

Entities

People

  • Mark A. Moline

Organizations

  • California Polytechnic State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biological Sciences
  • Boundary Layer
  • Coral Reefs
  • Data Sets
  • Environment
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Flow
  • Flow Fields
  • Guidance
  • Internal Waves
  • Measurement
  • Navigation
  • Platforms
  • Roughness
  • Shallow Water
  • Topography
  • Vehicles

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Autonomous Capabilities and Mission Reconnaissance.