AIR-SEA INTERACTION SPAR AND I-SPAR BUOY SYSTEMS FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE PROPAGATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVATIONS
Abstract
"This proposal requests funds for four instrumentation systems to improve the measurements of Marine fluxes, roughness and turbulence as well as electromagnetic propagation over the coastal Ocean and inner shelf. These systems are: a) Three Air-Sea Interaction Spar (ASIS) buoys; b)Ten I-SPAR buoys for flux measurements in the inner shelf; c) Sensors to measure the variability of electromagnetic propagation over the coastal land-air-sea environment; and d) Various specialized instrumentation will be acquired such as ADCPs, Spotter wave buoys, particle imager, optical particle spectrometer and infra-red and red-edge cameras to complement observations of the energetic inner shelf wave, wave breaking and current dynamics as well as sea spray, turbulence and temperature variations.ASIS Buoy Systems and qT Sensors for Electromagnetic Wave Propagation Three new ASIS buoy systems will be fabricated from modular components and equip them with the standard suite of instrumentation to measure the air-sea fluxes and near-surface turbulence as well as specialized sensors to record near surface gradients of temperature and humidity in the minimally disturbed marine environment for quantifying evaporation ducts that affect electromagnetic propagation. The ASIS buoy provides a stable platform to measure surface fluxes, near surface turbulence and high-resolution directional wave spectra ranging in scales from centimeter Bragg waves to the dominant wind-waves interface. ASIS has extensively been used in air-sea interaction studies .This multi-column spar design is an ovepment much closer to the surface than is possible with other platforms. It is this surface following property of ASIS which makes it valuable for near surface turbulence and gradient measurements both on the atmospheric and oceanic side. The nearby tether buoy is capable of providing power and satellite communications for routine monitoring. I-SPAR Buoy for the Inner Shelf: The wave-atmospheric boundary layer in the inner shelf region is further modified and the inner shelf I-SPAR will complement the ASIS buoys to make direct measurements of wind stress in shallow water ranging 7-20 water depths. The I-SPAR buoy will be an ultra-light, stable spar buoy with mounted instruments and can be deployed from a small boat. Here we take advantage of using modern, lightweight carbon fiber tations. Enhanced Sea Spray and Wave and Current Instrumentation: Various equipment such as ADCPs, Spotter wave buoys, particle imager, optical particle spectrometer and infra-red and red-edge cameras are to enhance observations of the energetic inner shelf wave and current dynamics as well as turbulence and temperature variations. All instruments will be co-located with ASIS and/or I-SPAR to maximize the full environmental observations. These sensors assess the amount and distribution of sea-spray and spume which are very important for electromagnetic transmission in the marine layer. These observations also fill a critical gap in sea-spray measurement capability as these large particles play an important role DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. in momentum and heat transport across the air-sea interface and provide information on the spray influence on the drag coefficient variability across the nearshore zone with active wave breaking. The cameras will be mounted on existing drones to survey the coastal ocean for wave breaking, wave-current interaction and shear-like processes that affect the atmosphndsurface roughness. These surveys will also provide 2-D spatial maps to correlate the in-situ observations of spray and spume."
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 08, 2020
- Source ID
- N000142012473
Entities
People
- Hans Graber
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Miami