--> Abstract: Measurement Technique for Process-Response Studies in Coastal Zone, by Frank S. Musialowski, Robert K. Schwartz, Paul G. Teleki; #90968 (1977).

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Abstract: Measurement Technique for Process-Response Studies in Coastal Zone

Frank S. Musialowski, Robert K. Schwartz, Paul G. Teleki

A technique was developed which allows for rapid and integrated data acquisition across all dynamic zones of the beach-nearshore area. It consists of combining wave, current, and bathymetric data obtained by a towed oceanographic data acquisition system (TODAS) and diver-obtained bottom measurements.

TODAS is a mobile submerged platform (sea sled) that is towed off the beach by an amphibious vehicle to a maximum depth of 9 m, released, and towed shoreward using a truck-mounted winch. At present, instrumentation on the TODAS consists of four ducted, impeller-type current meters and a pressure-type wave gauge. Measurements are made at points along the profile as the sled is winched back to shore. The sled also can be left as long as 100 hours at a single point to measure temporal variation in waves and currents. Data are telemetered from the sled to shore where they are recorded both in digital and analog form. Visual monitoring of the data output allows for real-time data examination and possible experiment modification. A stadia board may be attached to the sled mast for purposes f bathymetric profiling.

Bed-form measurements, sediment samples, and sediment-motion observations are obtained by divers at sled-measurement stations or along a screw-anchored bottom line adjacent to the sled profile. The line is durable and allows divers to collect data anywhere along the profile. Measured-distance stations along the line, and corresponding buoy stations, allow for absolute positioning of bottom and surface data.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90968©1977 AAPG-SEPM Annual Convention and Exhibition, Washington, DC