Surf Zone Tilt Current Meter

Abstract

Coastal tides and free surface gravity waves locally interact with the nearshore bathymetry generating spatially diverse circulation cells. Collectively, the cells form a current velocity flow field where net transport of geological, chemical, or biological, particulates takes place. Within the surf zone, dynamic instabilities lead to chaotic evolution and mixing, where single point, observations fail to quantitatively char­acterize the system as a whole. Governed by advanced theories, numerical models provide the necessary sampling resolution to study surf zone processes over large do­mains, but the model must be validated with field observations to draw meaningful conclusions. The acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) provide superior solutions for in-situ current observations, how­ever instrument fees limit the number of cohere11t deployments required to resolve flow field spatial diversity.