As ocean ecosystems continue to deteriorate in the face of human induced pressures, marine management professionals are increasingly being urged to predict the impacts of various activities on ocean ecosystems. Many ecosystem interactions are still not adequately understood, so managers often turn to scientists to provide data and analysis on impacts resulting from specific actions. One important physical ocean process in need of more empirical data is microscale turbulence. Because it is responsible for mixing across isopycnal surfaces in stratified waters, turbulence is important in many physical, chemical and biological processes in the ocean. An elementary description of turbulence and mixing is presented along with a summary of the role of turbulence in marine ecosystems. In order to be of use to scientists, turbulence must be measured over large areas of the ocean. This paper presents a discussion of techniques for measuring turbulence. Measurements of turbulence are specialized and costly. A new microstructure data acqusition system was developed to acquire microstructure data eight times faster than present methods allow. The design details of the high-speed microstructure data acquisition system called MicroSoar are presented along with some preliminary data obtained from its deployment on actual cruises. / Graduation date: 1998