J. F. Lynch
Appl. Ocean Phys. and Eng. Dept., Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst., Woods Hole, MA 02543
During the winters of 1988--1989 and 1990--91 a long-term sediment transport experiment called STRESS (sediment transport events on shelves and slopes) was deployed in 50 to 150 m of water off the California coast. The experiment's aims were to quantify sediment transport, both by measurements and modeling, in an area where both surface waves and currents combine (nonlinearly) to produce the bottom stress. A number of oceanographic sensors were deployed as part of this effort, including an acoustic backscatter system (ABSS), which measured near bottom sediment concentration profiles. This system allowed one to make measures of integrated transport, quantify the wave-current interaction, and (when compared to optical devices working in a much higher ka range) quantify the particle size distribution to some extent. The results from the STRESS deployments, their implications, and the directions of both ongoing and future research will be discussed. [Work supported by ONR.]