Using a Near-Bed Sediment Flux Sensor to Measure Wave Formed Bedform Migrations and Formation Processes

LONG-TERM GOALS. My research program focuses on identifying and quantifying sediment erosion, transport, and deposition processes on the continental shelf through state of the art observational techniques in both fine grained and sandy environments. In sandy environments, my goal is to understand the detailed interactions and feedbacks between hydrodynamics, bedforms, and the resulting sand transport. In fine-grained environments, I have been investigating the role fluid mud flows as a depositional mechanism in areas with high deposition rates. In both of these types of environments, I have also focused on relating the small-scale transport processes to larger temporal and spatial scale depositional and erosional patterns. OBJECTIVES. The primary goals of this work are: 1) To quantify the role of near-bed sand flux in forcing the migration and geometric evolution of wave orbital scale ripples based on measurements from a nearbed suspended and bedload sediment flux sensor. 2) To study the interactions of the forcing hydrodynamics, sand transport processes, and bed geometry by determining how the hydrodynamic wave and current boundary layer structure over the bedforms is modified by the presence of different scale bedforms, and investigating the mechanisms by which bedload and suspended load transport is controlled by the forcing hydrodynamics over the bedforms.