Oceanography

This research investigates the validity of an acoustic propagation model by comparing theoretical reflection coefficients, function of frequency, to FAU chirp sonar measurements (chirp sub-bottom profiler). An acoustic model has been implemented to estimate the spectrum of energy reflected from sandy sediments in the presence of surface scattering. The surface roughness being the dominant reverberation part, the volume scattering has been neglected in this model. A laser scanning system involving an image-processing algorithm has been designed to measure the seafloor bottom roughness using 1D Fourier transforms. In the case of anisotropic roughness, an estimation of the sand ripples dominant direction is provided involving 2D Fourier transforms. Measurements of acoustic data using a chirp sonar and estimation of bottom roughness from video data of the scanner over an artificial bottom are provided to compare the reflection coefficients obtained from the data actually measured with those from the acoustical model.

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.