Sediment Transport at Density Fronts in Shallow Water

Our research approach combines advanced observational and modeling techniques. In the field, we will measure velocity and suspended sediment at high resolution (~ few cm) in shallow flows, tracking the evolution of the salinity front through the tidal cycle. The instrumentation will incorporate an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) to measure currents and a profiling conductivitytemperature-depth sensor (CTD) to measure water column salinity and density. Suspended sediment concentrations will be based on a combination of acoustic and optical sensors. An acoustic backscatter sensor (ABS) will measure echo amplitude at three acoustic frequencies, and comparisons between the frequencies will provide information on the suspended particle size distributions. An optical backscatter sensor (OBS) associated with the CTD will provide additional data on the suspended sediment profile.