Report on Sediment Transport Events on Shelf and Slope (STRESS) field season 1 : Winter 1988-1989 Benthic Acoustic Stress Sensor (BASS)

Abstract

Data on the effects of winter conditions on the transport of sediment on the continental shelf off Northern California were collected during the flrst year of the Sediment TRansport Events on Shelf and Slope (STRESS) Experiment. This experiment was done in conjunction with (Shelf Mixed Layer Experiment) SMILE and (Biological Effects on Coastal Ocean Sediment Transport) BECOST to provide a complete suite of measurements of nearshore dynamics, sediment transport, and biological interactions. This report includes a general description of the work accomplished during the frrst STRESS fleld season, carried out in the winter of 1988-1989 off the Northern California coast Three cruises were completed during the STRESS experiment, one each for deployment, turnaround, and r~overy of the instruments. This created two back-to-back sections of data, one from December 4, 1988 to January 23, 1989, and the other from January 29 to March 17, 1989. This report also documents in detail the use of the Benthic Acoustic Stress Sensor (BASS), and the associated acoustic data telemetry link in STRESS. BASS has been used in different configurations previously, but the acoustic telemetry system is new.