The IEEE Seventh Working Conference on Current Measurement Technology

Current and Wave Monitoring and Emerging Technologies

March 13-15 | Bahia Hotel | San Diego, CA, USA

  
     

Observatory Measurements of Waves and Current

Albert J. Williams 3rd, J. Fredricks, M.Carson, C. Tierney, and A. Waterbury

Status: Accepted

MS #12 Bigelow 110
Applied Ocean Physics & Enginering
Woods Hole , MA USA
02543
Phone: 508-289-2757
Email: awilliams@whoi.edu

Real time observations of waves and current at the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) from bottom mounted MAVS current meters permit critical events to be captured for subsequent analysis. Storm waves associated with winter northeasters and current from wind stress parallel to the south facing shore of Martha's Vineyard generate bottom stress that may fluidize the bottom. Vector velocity and pressure measurements will be (are being) made 1 meter above the bottom at a 12 meter depth and at a 15 meter depth a mile farther offshore. Power for these instruments is supplied from nodes in the MVCO network and data from each instrument are transmitted to the node continuously at 9600 (RS232 interface), for forwarding to shore by fiber optics network. The benefit of the observatory to our ability to capture critical events is the power for continuous high-speed sampling and the capacity of onshore based loggers for storing data for indefinite deployment. Analysis consists (will consist) of sampling the critical events as in an autonomous deployment, but the continuous exposure to storms gives more opportunities to distinguish conditions that affect the sediment.

Submitted on October 24, 2002