Oceanic turbulence measurement using an AUV platform and development of graphical interfaces for data acquisition and analysis

Application of a small autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is described as a platform for measurement of oceanic turbulence in coastal waters during cold atmospheric fronts. The turbulence package, mounted on the AUV, allows horizontal profiling and measurement of small-scale fluctuations of velocity and temperature and other characteristics of the flow in the ocean mixed layer. The turbulence measurements were made in conjunction with current profile measurements, conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements, providing the background conditions. The navigation and tracking data from the ship and the underwater vehicle are also presented. The primary focus of this research was to collect and analyze data from the ocean in order to resolve the turbulent velocity fluctuations and the dissipation rates of turbulent kinetic energy. The aim of this thesis is to explain the approach for measurement and analysis of ocean data. It includes the manufacture of the measurement probes, the preparation of the electronic system, the coding of the acquisition software and use of several algorithms for detecting the presence of turbulence and mixing. Two observational oceanographic experiments are described as a basis for illustrating the techniques and methods in data acquisition and analysis of the oceanographic and turbulent quantities.