A new version of the SWIFT platform for waves, currents, and turbulence in the ocean surface layer

Thomson, Jim; Nylund, Sven; Moulton, Melissa; Klerk, Alex de; Talbert, Joe; Guerra, Maricarmen; Kastner, Sam; Smith, Madison; Schwendeman, Michael; Zippel, Seth

doi:10.1109/cwtm43797.2019.8955299

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…We deployed two types of SWIFT drifters from inside the river mouth throughout each day of the study, SWIFT v3 and SWIFT v4 (Thomson, ; Thomson et al, ). All of these SWIFTs measure wave properties using either an Inertial Measurement Unit (v3, v4) or a Global Positioning System (v3).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conceptual Model of a River Plume in the Surf Zone

2019

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We use observations from the Quinault River, a small river that flows into an energetic surf zone on the West Coast of Washington state, to investigate the interaction between river and wave forcing. By synthesizing data from moorings, drifters, and Unmanned Aerial System video, we develop a conceptual model of this interaction based on three length scales: the surf zone width, L SZ ; the near-field plume length, L NF ; and the cross-shore extent of the channel, L C . The relationships between these length scales show how tidal variability and bathymetric effects change the balance of wave and river momentum. The most frequently observed state is L SZ > L NF . Under these conditions the surf zone traps the outflowing river plume and the river water's initial propagation into the surf zone is set by L NF . When the river velocity is highest during low water, and when wave forcing is low, L NF > L SZ and river water escapes the surf zone. At high water during low wave forcing, L C > L SZ , such that minimal wave breaking occurs in the channel and river water escapes onto the shelf. Based on the discharge, wave, and tidal conditions, the conceptual model is used to predict the fate of river water from the Quinault over a year, showing that approximately 70% of the river discharge is trapped in the surf zone upon exiting the river mouth.Plain Language Summary Small rivers are an important source of sediment, nutrients, and pollutants to the coastal ocean, but they are less well studied than their larger siblings. The coastal discharge from small rivers often meets large breaking waves in the surf zone. Our work investigates the effect of the large waves present at the mouth of one such river, the Quinault River in Washington State. We find that the fate of Quinault River water is determined by the relative importance of river, wave, and depth effects, all of which are modulated by the tide. When wave forcing dominates, river water is trapped in the surf zone. When river forcing dominates, river water escapes the surf zone. The difference in depth between the offshore channel and the rest of the beach can also allow river water to escape the surf zone by reducing the effect of the wave forcing. When we apply our conceptual model to 1 year of wave, river, and tide data, we predict that 70% of Quinault River discharge is trapped in the surf zone. The sediment and pollutants carried by this trapped river water can thus have important impacts on beach erosion, public health, and local ecology.Small river mouths are often unengineered, allowing surf zone wave breaking to occur near or at such outflows. In regions with higher population densities, engineered structures such as jetties are present at most river mouths, preventing wave breaking and the influence of surf zone dynamics on buoyancy and

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conceptual Model of a River Plume in the Surf Zone

2019

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“…Drifting with ocean currents and winds, the SWIFTs (Surface Wave Instrument Floats with Tracking) offered a Lagrangian view of the near-surface ocean and atmospheric properties, ocean waves and currents, bulk air-sea fluxes, and cloud features (Thomson, 2012;Thomson et al, 2019). Instrumentation on board SWIFTs v4 and v3 is listed in Tables 8 and 9, respectively.…”

Section: Swift Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurements from the RV <i>Ronald H. Brown</i> and related platforms as part of the Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (ATOMIC)

Quinn

Thompson

Coffman

et al. 2021

Earth Syst. Sci. Data

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Abstract. The Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (ATOMIC) took place from 7 January to 11 July 2020 in the tropical North Atlantic between the eastern edge of Barbados and 51∘ W, the longitude of the Northwest Tropical Atlantic Station (NTAS) mooring. Measurements were made to gather information on shallow atmospheric convection, the effects of aerosols and clouds on the ocean surface energy budget, and mesoscale oceanic processes. Multiple platforms were deployed during ATOMIC including the NOAA RV Ronald H. Brown (RHB) (7 January to 13 February) and WP-3D Orion (P-3) aircraft (17 January to 10 February), the University of Colorado's Robust Autonomous Aerial Vehicle-Endurant Nimble (RAAVEN) uncrewed aerial system (UAS) (24 January to 15 February), NOAA- and NASA-sponsored Saildrones (12 January to 11 July), and Surface Velocity Program Salinity (SVPS) surface ocean drifters (23 January to 29 April). The RV Ronald H. Brown conducted in situ and remote sensing measurements of oceanic and atmospheric properties with an emphasis on mesoscale oceanic–atmospheric coupling and aerosol–cloud interactions. In addition, the ship served as a launching pad for Wave Gliders, Surface Wave Instrument Floats with Tracking (SWIFTs), and radiosondes. Details of measurements made from the RV Ronald H. Brown, ship-deployed assets, and other platforms closely coordinated with the ship during ATOMIC are provided here. These platforms include Saildrone 1064 and the RAAVEN UAS as well as the Barbados Cloud Observatory (BCO) and Barbados Atmospheric Chemistry Observatory (BACO). Inter-platform comparisons are presented to assess consistency in the data sets. Data sets from the RV Ronald H. Brown and deployed assets have been quality controlled and are publicly available at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) data archive (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/ATOMIC-2020, last access: 2 April 2021). Point-of-contact information and links to individual data sets with digital object identifiers (DOIs) are provided herein.

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“…Spotter windage experiments were conducted in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, in August 2019. In these experiments, three Spotter buoys and one Surface Wave Instrument Float with Tracking (SWIFT v4; Thomson et al 2019) were simultaneously released from the same location. The set of four instruments drifted approximately 1.8 km over 1.1 h. Over the entire experiment, all Spotter buoys drifted roughly parallel to the SWIFT, maintaining a proximity of less than 200 m. The SWIFT reported 15 min-averaged 10-m wind speed and surface current velocity at 1-m depth calculated from the onboard downward-looking Signature1000 ADP.…”

Section: ) Windage Correction and Field Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Statistics of a Real-Time Pacific Ocean Weather Sensor Network

Houghton

Smit

Clark

et al. 2021

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

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A distributed sensor network of over one hundred free-drifting, real-time marine weather sensors was deployed in the Pacific Ocean beginning in early 2019. The Spotter buoys used in the network represent a next generation ocean weather sensor designed to measure surface waves, wind, currents, and sea surface temperature. Large distributed sensor networks like these provide much needed long-dwell sensing capabilities in open ocean regions. Despite the demand for better weather forecasts and climate data in our oceans, direct in situ measurements of marine surface weather (waves, winds, currents) remain exceedingly sparse in the open oceans. Due to the large expanse of our oceans, distributed paradigms are necessary to create sufficient data density at global scale, similar to advances in sensing on land and in space. Here we discuss initial findings from this long-dwell open ocean distributed sensor network. Through triple-collocation analysis, we determine errors in collocated satellite-derived observations and model estimates. The correlation analysis shows that the Spotter network provides wave height data with lower errors than both satellites and models. The wave spectrum was also further used to infer wind speed. Buoy drift dynamics are similar to established drogued drifters, particularly when accounting for windage. We find a windage correction factor for the Spotter buoy of approximately 1%, which is in agreement with theoretical estimates. Altogether, we present a completely new open ocean weather data set and characterize the data quality against other observations and models to demonstrate the broad value for ocean monitoring and forecasting that can be achieved using large-scale distributed sensor networks in our oceans.

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A new version of the SWIFT platform for waves, currents, and turbulence in the ocean surface layer

Cited by 20 publications

References 22 publications

A Conceptual Model of a River Plume in the Surf Zone

A Conceptual Model of a River Plume in the Surf Zone

Measurements from the RV <i>Ronald H. Brown</i> and related platforms as part of the Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (ATOMIC)

Performance Statistics of a Real-Time Pacific Ocean Weather Sensor Network

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A new version of the SWIFT platform for waves, currents, and turbulence in the ocean surface layer

Cited by 20 publications

References 22 publications

A Conceptual Model of a River Plume in the Surf Zone

A Conceptual Model of a River Plume in the Surf Zone

Measurements from the RV &lt;i&gt;Ronald H. Brown&lt;/i&gt; and related platforms as part of the Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (ATOMIC)

Performance Statistics of a Real-Time Pacific Ocean Weather Sensor Network

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Measurements from the RV <i>Ronald H. Brown</i> and related platforms as part of the Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (ATOMIC)