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.]