Carbon transport in the bottom boundary layer. Final report

This report summarizes the activities and findings from a field experiment devised to estimate the rates and mechanisms of transport of carbon across the continental shelves. The specific site chosen for the experiment was the mid-Atlantic Bight, a region off the North Carolina coast. The experiment involved a large contingent of scientists from many institutions. The specific component of the program was the transport of carbon in the bottom boundary layer. The postulate mechanisms of transport of carbon in the bottom boundary layer are: resuspension and advection, downward deposition, and accumulation. The high turbulence levels in the bottom boundary layer require the understanding of the coupling between turbulence and bottom sediments. The specific issues addressed in the work reported here were: (a) What is the sediment response to forcing by currents and waves? (b) What is the turbulence climate in the bottom boundary layer at this site? and (c) What is the rate at which settling leads to carbon sequestering in bottom sediments at offshore sites

Development, field testing of a laser instrument for the measurement of sediment reference concentration in the MARGINS Program. Final report

A small grant was added to an ongoing Navy program to extend the scope of ongoing work by development of a new laser instrument. The instrument, MSCAT (Miniature Scattering and Transmissometry) uses small angle scattering to obtain the needed multi-parameter information for measurement of particle size distribution and number density. During the short course of the grant, the instrument was built and tested in a field experiment off the coast of North Carolina. Useful data were obtained, and these have been presented at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in 1994

A comparison of near-bed acoustic backscatter and laser diffraction measurements of suspended sediments

As part of the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR, Arlington, VA) mine burial program, an experiment was conducted off the pier at Santa Cruz, CA, to measure the near-bed suspended sediment reference concentration under waves and currents. Two tripods were deployed to carry out the measurements; one consisting mainly of acoustical instrumentation and the other solely of optical instruments. The tripods were located within 15 m of one another on a sandy bed and measurements of the suspended sediment were made using acoustics and optics. Although the experiment was not primarily designed to conduct an intercomparison of acoustical and optical measurements, it was considered interesting to take advantage of the situation and to examine if these two techniques gave comparable results. In particular, measurements of particle size and concentration, obtained using a triple frequency acoustic backscatter system (ABS) have been compared with the commercially available laser miniature scattering and transmissometry instrument (MSCAT). It was found that the mean grain size estimated by the two methods was consistent, however, in contrast, the concentration time series showed differences, both in magnitude and for

Evaluation of a wide range laser diffraction grain size analyser for use with sediments

The qualities of a laser diffraction grain size analyser, the Coulter LS-100 (range claimed by the manufacturer: 0.4-900 mum in a single measurement), are evaluated on sediments of fluvial and lacustrine origin. Accuracy and resolution of measurement on standard latex spheres are excellent. Reproducibility of the results on natural sediments appears to be satisfactory, but the method underestimates the fraction of clay particles with an efficiency of detection (36-70%) proportional to the clay content determined from pipette analysis. This efficiency is somewhat higher than those reported from other instruments of the same generation. Comparison of the Coulter LS-100 with other sizing techniques shows good agreement with the sieving method but some differences appear with the electroresistance particle technique: median and mean size values measured by the Coulter Counter TA1 are systematically lower than those obtained by the Coulter LS-100. Analyses show good correlation with those of a Malvern Laser particle analyser but a discrepancy appears with very fine silt and clay sized sediments. The Coulter LS-100 detects a higher clay content than that measured with the Malvern Laser Sizer 2600. Except when precise measurements of clay content are needed, the Coulter LS-100 produces precise and accurate results in size ranges required for geological and environmental studies