Turbulence Measurement Surveys in the Convectively Driven Upper Mixed Layer and Close-Bottom Boundary Layer Over a Continental Shelf During a Storm Front

The principal objective of this work is to contribute to the development of effective remote autonomous mine countermeasure operations by providing pertinent flow, heat flux and sediment transport characteristics in the benthic boundary layer to missions engaged in sea mine reconnaissance and hunting. These environmental characteristics govern acoustic and light propagation, chemical and biogenic activity in the bottom boundary layer, distribution of sediment over a buried mine and other physical processes, knowledge of which is critical to the effective performance of acoustical, chemical or other sensory-based methods for mine detection and MCM operations. To address these issues, comprehensive numerical models of the flow in a shallow water column are required. The aim is collect significant data to help parameterize sub-grid processes in such a numerical model and develop an associated accurate sub-grid scale model.