We describe a new measuring complex aimed at the investigation of small-scale processes in the upper active layer of the sea. The necessity of creation of a complex of this sort is justified and a circle of problems that can be solved with the help of this complex is described. The scales of resolution of horizontal and vertical inhomogeneities in measuring in the mode of vertical probing are theoretically estimated. The basic technical characteristics of the complex are presented. We also present the results of laboratory and field tests, which confirm the agreement between the calculated and actual technical possibilities of the complex. The structural features of various versions of the "Sigma-1" measuring complex (the "Sigma-1P" point-to-point-operation version and the "Sigma-1Z" probing version) are described.

551.465.15 We present the results of experimental investigations of the characteristics of turbulence in the layer of wave-induced mixing. The data on the fluctuations of velocity, temperature, and conductivity are obtained with the help of a Sigma-1 measuring complex. The computed values of the dissipation rate of turbulent energy are compared with different models proposed for the subsurface layer. It is shown that the available models fail to guarantee satisfactory agreement of the numerical results with the experimental data for the layer of active wave action and, in particular, in the presence of swell. This leads us to the conclusion concerning the necessity of parametrization and assimilation of more complete data on the state of the sea surface, the structure of currents, and the surface layer of the atmosphere in the models.