HR: 16:30h
AN: OS52G-09    [PDF]
TI: Near-Surface structure at the ASIT during CBLAST-Low
AU: * Plueddeman, A J
EM: aplueddemann@whoi.edu
AF: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 202A Clark Lab MS-29, Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AB: As a part of the 2003 Coupled Boundary Layers and Air-Sea Transfer (CBLAST) Low-Wind Experiment, instrumentation was deployed at the Air-Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT) to investigate horizontal and vertical structure near the ocean surface. The ASIT is a fixed structure spanning the water column (15 m depth) and the lower 15-m of the atmosphere about 2 miles south of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Cables to a shore lab provide power and communication, allowing high sample rates. A vertical array of temperature-conductivity sensors and profiling ADCPs measured stratification and shear, a surface-scanning ADCP measured horizontal convergences on scales of 10-100 m, and a burst-sampled pressure gauge provided surface wave spectra. These observations were used to characterize mixed layer evolution in response to surface forcing, wind-driven shear and its vertical distribution relative to the stratification, and the strength and dominant scale of Langmuir circulation. Results for the period from 26-31 August 2003, when all instruments were operating simultaneously, are highlighted.
DE: 4504 Air/sea interactions (0312)
DE: 4572 Upper ocean processes
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 Ocean Sciences Meeting