Water velocity measurement from near surface to 110 m depth at deepwater dumpsite #106 using acoustically tracked drogues and conventional current meters

Abstract

A system has been developed recently at W.H.O.I. for tracking nearsurface drogues equipped with sonobuoys using an acoustic navigation system. Surface and submerged drogues of mean depths ranging from 0.15 m to 4.88 m were tracked in the vicinity of deepwater dumpsite #106 . A least squares linear regression technique was used to determine drogue velocities over 2 hour periods. Water velocities at depths from 8 - 110 m were measured using a ship-deployed current meter coupled with acoustic tracking of the ship. The results indicated very little velocity shear in the surface mixed layer. There were two regions of _strong shear at greater depths, one associated with the main thermocline and the other presumably associated with a halocline .