Instrumentation in Support of Measurements of Langmuir Turbulence in the Upper Ocean
Abstract
Abstract This is a proposal to acquire instrumentation that will enhance the capabilities of the airborne modular aerial sensing system (MASS) and two unmanned (ocean) surface vehicles (USVs) to improve measurements of the surface ocean and the dynamics and kinematics of the upper ocean boundary layer (OBL). It has become apparent that simple diffusion models of the OBL based only on wind forcing cannot account for the role surface waves play in the air-sea fluxes and in the dynamics of both the ocean boundary layer and the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) above. This is the focus of the “Waves, Langmuir Cells, and the Upper Ocean Boundary Layer” DRI. As part of the project, PI Melville has been funded through N00014-14-1-0710 to conduct measurements of the surface ocean and lower atmosphere (SOLA) from R/P FLIP, an aircraft, and two unmanned surface vehicles (Wave Glider USVs: WGs). In SoCal2013 the modular aerial sensing system (MASS), which includes a scanning lidar for surface wave measurement, and visible, infrared (IR) and hyperspectral imagery for surface signatures of wave breaking and Langmuir turbulence (LT), was flown on the aircraft. The WGs were equipped with SOLA instrument packages to measure lower MABL fields and fluxes, and upper ocean current, turbulence and temperature fields. Despite the success of these measurements in SoCal2013 there is room for improvement and that is the motivation for this DURIP proposal which includes funding for two fabrications: 1. Installation and testing of a higher resolution IR camera on the MASS system for improved resolution of the surface signatures and horizontal resolution of Langmuir turbulence. 2. Installation and testing of a five-beam acoustic Doppler current profiler (AD2CP) on each of the two WGs for improved measurement of vertical velocity in the upper 7m of the water column.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 12, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141512925
Entities
People
- Ken Melville
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, San Diego