ASA 124th Meeting New Orleans 1992 October

1pAO4. Field measurements of suspended sand using acoustic backscatter.

Daniel M. Hanes

Dept. of Coastal and Oceanogr. Eng., Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611

The suspension of sand by waves has been studied in the field under shoaled wave conditions through the application of acoustic backscatter techniques. The spatial and temporal resolution of the techniques allow for the examination of suspended sediment concentration on time scales corresponding to individual waves, and space scales of approximately 1 cm. This has led to the identification and description of near-bed intermittent suspension events, and provided insight into the mechanisms for suspended sediment transport in coastal regions. [Work supported by ONR.]