Research Summaries

Back River Mouths and Inlet Dynamics Field Pilot Studies DRI: Inlet Tracer Dispersion and Moving AUV Observations

Fiscal Year 2011
Division Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science
Department Oceanography
Investigator(s) MacMahan, James H.
Sponsor Office of Naval Research (Navy)
Summary We propose to participate in River Mouth and Inlet Dynamics DRI pilot field studies and program review. It is hypothesized that the dynamic front at New River Inlet, NC extends from Onslow Bay, NC out to the inner shelf and is strongly influenced by the morphology, tidal, wind, and wave forcing, which induce varying velocity patterns, material exchange rates that affect visibility, temperature and salinity, and sediment transport. The main objectives of our effort are:
- Measure the intra-tidal three dimensional flow velocity distribution,
- Measure the tidal exchange of sediments, ChI-A, CDOM, salinity, and temperature between Onslow bay and the coastal ocean (inner shelf),
- Evaluate the material exchange as function of wind and wave forcing and freshwater input and the influence of the morphology (i.e. ebb-tidal delta, cresentic bays) in enhancing or limiting exchange,
- Extract the tidal flow circulation with Delft 3D to retrieve the residual flow circulation associated with the forcing by waves, wind and density differences,
- Verify Delft3D in predicting the complex velocity field and concurrent material transports under a range of environmental conditions (i.e. waves, wind and potentially stratification), and Utilize moving autonomous platforms for data collection
Keywords
Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal