An Ocean Sensor Array to Detect Small-Scale Variability
Abstract
The long-term goal of this DURIP award is to develop an ocean sensor array designed to directly measure the small-scale variability in currents and properties over the full depth of the water column, and relate this to the large-scale flow in which it is embedded. The ocean sensor array, consisting of bottom mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) and temperature-conductivity sensors, is proposed for deployment in the Mindoro (sill depth ~400 m) and the Tablas Strait (sill depth ~ 350 m) in the Philippines as part of the ONR DRI Characterization and Modeling of Archipelago Strait Dynamics . The specific objectives are to provide direct measurements of velocity and currents in narrow straits with shallow sill depths in order to: 1. characterize the spatial and temporal variability of the small-scale features, 2. determine their relationship to the large-scale background flow, 3. examine how they may vary seasonally as the remote and local forcing changes . Ultimately, this will effort will provide a long-term context for the ship-borne, synoptic-type measurements during the DRI s Intensive Observing Phase (IOP) and furthermore, enable a better representation and prediction in numerical and theoretical models in a region that has no previous subsurface oceanographic measurements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA612133
Entities
People
- Janet Sprintall
Organizations
- University of California Regents