This study investigates the variations of flow field and water mass due to the influence of topographic effect in the Kaoping Submarine Canyon. The data used in this study are collected from five cruises of field observations using research vessel OR3. Instruments deployed include ship-board ADCP¡BCTD¡Btow-ADCP, moored ADCP and vertical arrays of temperature loggers. The collected data are analyzed through a variety of time series analysis technique, such as harmonic analysis¡Blow-pass filter¡BFFT and EOF analysis. The results show that (1) the flow in the Kao-ping Canyon was dominated by semi-diurnal tide. Harmonic analysis shows that both bottom layer and the shelf region are dominated by the M2 tide. The amplitude increases with canyon depth, and the major axis of tidal current align with canyon orientation. (2) Water mass are moving around by the oscillation tidal current along the canyon. During flood, surface water flow to southeast, while bottom flow is up canyon. During ebb, surface water goes to northwest, while bottom flow is down canyon. (3) The low-pass flows indicate a counter-clockwise rotation from surface down, which is explained due to bottom frictional effect. (4) EOF analysis of CTD profiles suggested that the first mode (semi-diurnal tide) can explain 88% of the variations.

This study investigates the structures of flow field in the mouth of Kao-Ping River, southwest Taiwan. The data used in this study are collected from several cruises of field observations using research vessel OR3 and fishing boats. Instruments deployed include bmADCP, sbADCP, towADCP, Aquadopp, CTD, XR420 and Seacat37. Spatial and temporal variations of flow, sea level, temperature and salinity data are sampled. The collected data are analyzed through harmonic analysis, low-pass filter and FFT. Results from previously study showed that cold water flowed eastward into the canyon during flood, and westward out of the canyon during ebb. This study shows that the canyon head is not the channel for bottom layer water to climb up into the shallow bank or the river (perhaps the bottom water climb up over shelf at the turning of the canyon 5 km offshore). The summaries are: (1)Water mass are moving around dominated by the oscillation M2 tidal current. There are 3 hours lag between sea level and flow. Maximum out canyon flow found at the peak of flood, while in canyon flow found at the low water. (2)The coastal surface water flows southeast during flood, and goes to northwest during ebb. (3)Tide current is the primary dynamic in the Kaoping River.During flood, lower temperature and higher salinity seawater is up river. During ebb, higher temperature and lower salinity is down the river. Amplitude of tidal current decreases with depth (likely due to bottom friction) at river mouth depth of 3 meters.

Several cruises of current measurements along various cross-Taiwan Strait transects were conducted by using shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) during 2001-2003. The main purpose of these experiments is to obtain seasonal variations of flow structures and volume transport in the central and southern regions of the Taiwan Strait. In each cruise the semidiurnal tidal currents were eliminated from the ADCP currents by two different methods, i.e., the phase averaging method and the TSNOW calculation. The subtidal current in the Taiwan Strait generally flows in the parallel-strait direction. In summer when the southwest monsoon prevails, the water in the strait originates from the South China Sea (SCS) or the Kuroshio. This northward-flowing water is divided into two parts by the archipelago of Penghu; the majority keeps flowing northward along the Penghu Channel (PHC), the minority flows northwestward around the Penghu Island. The flows in the surface layer of the PHC reach a maximum speed of 60 cm/s or greater. In winter, strong NE winds push the fresh and cold China Coastal water southward, along the western part of the Taiwan Strait. The SCS or Kuroshio water still flows northward on the eastern part of the strait. The maximum northward current still occurs in the PHC and is around 20 cm/s or less in the winter. Our results from the phase averaging method of all six cruises indicate that the net transports along the Taiwan Strait are all flowing northward, with a maximum value of about 2.5 Sv in summer (August 2001) and a minimum value of about 0.5 Sv in winter (March 2003). The standard deviation of the volume transport is 0.3 Sv. Due to its greater depths and strong currents, the volume transport in the PHC amounts to approximately 75% of the total transport of the Taiwan Strait. Based on the phase averaging results, the transport is related to the along-strait wind by a simple regression: , the sign convention is positive for southwesterly wind and transport.

Barton Springs Pool (BSP) is an important ecological and recreational resource to the City of Austin (CoA). Due to sediment accumulation, excessive algal growth, and concern for water velocities through salamander habitat, improving the flow regime of BSP was identified as an important focus for future infrastructure development in Barton Springs Pool. The CoA commissioned this project to develop and test a hydrodynamic model to provide a basis for understanding the flow dynamics of BSP, and to aid in future infrastructure developments in BSP. This phase of the project included the collection of bathymetric and velocity data, creating a hydrodynamic model of BSP that dynamically represents space-time varying 3D velocities, and testing the model using the default settings and an adjustment of the outlet coefficients. The model was run with three targeted inflow scenarios to determine both how the model responds with varying inflows, and to provide a general idea of how flow in BSP is affected by the magnitude of the inflow. The model used was the Fine Resolution Environmental Hydrodynamic Model that solves the 3D non-hydrostatic Navier-Stokes equations in a split hydrostatic/non-hydrostatic approach. The model was run using the default settings and the outputs were compared to available data. Results from these initial runs showed that further calibration is necessary. Model runs under the targeted inflow scenarios showed that as inflow increases, velocities in the upstream portion of BSP increase correspondingly, but this is not reflected in the downstream portion of BSP. / text

A travers cette thèse, nous avons cherché à développer de nouvelles méthodes de mesure, basées sur la rétrodiffusion acoustique, pour estimer la concentration massique des sédiments en suspension dans les rivières. Souvent, ces sédiments présentent une distribution granulométrique bimodale, i.e. constituée d’un mélange de sédiments fins et de sable. Le principal avantage des méthodes hydroacoustiques est leur capacité à fournir des mesures avec une résolution spatiale et temporelle bien meilleure que les techniques classiques type prélèvement. L’objectif est in fine d’améliorer l’estimation du flux sédimentaire dans les cours d’eau. Des mesures acoustiques multifréquences, associées à des prélèvements physiques, ont été réalisées sur le terrain et dans une cuve expérimentale au laboratoire. Des méthodes d’inversion du signal acoustique ont été testées et développées au laboratoire sur une suspension homogène de sédiments fins. Une nouvelle méthode en particulier, combinant analyse de la rétrodiffusion et de l’atténuation acoustique, a permis de retrouver la concentration massique des sédiments avec une précision de l’ordre de ± 20 %. En rivière, une méthode mixte alliant données de calibration et inversion du signal acoustique à deux fréquences a été développée, permettant, dans certaines conditions, d’estimer la concentration des sédiments fins et du sable sur l’ensemble de la section en travers d’un cours d’eau. Ce résultat confirme la capacité de la technologie hydroacoustique à fournir une information spatiale sur la suspension. Des écarts parfois importants ont été observés entre la réponse acoustique théorique, calculée à partir des données de concentration et de granulométrie, et les mesures acoustiques sur le terrain. Il semble que ces écarts soient dus à la présence d’autres corps diffusants dans les rivières, probablement des flocs et/ou des micro-bulles d’air. Ces travaux appellent au développement d’un cadre théorique plus performant et adapté aux suspensions rencontrées en rivière. / With this PhD, we have tried to develop new measurement methods, based on acoustic backscattering, to estimate the mass concentration of suspended sediments in rivers. These sediments often show a bimodal grain-size distribution, i.e. composed of a mixture of fine and sand particles. The main advantage of hydroacoustic methods is their ability to provide measurements with a much better spatial and temporal resolution than conventional sampling techniques. The ultimate goal is to improve the sediment load estimation in rivers. Multifrequency acoustic measurements, combined with physical sampling, were carried out in the field and in an experimental laboratory tank. Acoustic inversion methods were tested and developed on a homogeneous suspension of fine sediments in the laboratory. A new method was implemented, combining the analysis of acoustic backscatter and attenuation, and led to retrieve the sediment mass concentration with a precision in the order of ± 20%. In rivers, a semi-empirical method combining calibration data and acoustic inversion at two frequencies has been developed, allowing, under certain conditions, to estimate the concentration of fine and sand sediments throughout the entire river cross-section. This result confirms the ability of hydroacoustic technology to provide spatial information on the suspension. Significant differences were frequently observed between the theoretical acoustic response, computed from concentration and particle size data, and the acoustic measurements in rivers. It seems that these differences could be due to the presence of other scatterers in rivers, probably flocs and/or air micro-bubbles. This work calls for the development of a more efficient theoretical framework suitable for river suspensions.

A hull-mounted 38-kHz phased-array acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) was used to acoustically survey the continental margin of the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) during 6 cruises in 2002-2003. This is the first backscatter survey with a 38-kHz ADCP in the Gulf of Mexico. ADCPs have been used as a proxy to measure the volume backscatter return from plankton in the water column, however previous studies were restricted to the upper 200 to 300 meters due to the relatively high frequency of operation (150-300 kHz) of the transducers. In addition to measuring deep water current velocities, the 38-kHz phased-array ADCP can measure Relative Acoustic Backscatter Intensity (RABI) as deep as 1000 meters. The daytime depth of the main deep scattering layer at 400 to 500 meters was resolved, and locally high backscatter intensity can be seen down to 800 meters. The objectives were to determine how to analyze RABI from the instrument to resolve scattering layers, and then to seek secondary deep scattering layers of potential prey species below the main deep scattering layer, from 600 to 800 meters in the feeding range for Gulf of Mexico sperm whales. Based on RABI from the 38-kHz ADCP, secondary DSLs in sperm whale diving range were more commonly recorded over the continental shelf than in the deep basin region of the Gulf of Mexico. The daytime depths of migrating plankton showed variation depending on physical circulation features (cyclone, anticyclone, proximity to Mississippi river, and Loop Current) present. Vertical migrations compared between concurrently running 38 and 153-kHz ADCPs showed an overlap of acoustic scatterers recorded by the two instruments, however the 153-kHz instrument has much finer vertical resolution. Vertical migration rates were calculated and simultaneous net tow samples from one of the cruises was used to compare abundance estimates by the two methods.

The knowledge of the agents acting on coastal dynamics is very important for the management and the adequate use of the littoral zone. The ADCP is an instrument that was using successfuly since some years (decade of â80) for water current measurements in ocean and estuarine areas. In this work, the ADCP was aplicated in coastal areas (between Fortaleza and PecÃm) and two estaurine areas, in the Jaguaribe river (Cearà State) and Mamanguape river (ParaÃba State). In the metropolitan region of Fortaleza, the two current surveys made in two different periods, showed a flux directed to the beach in May 2005, and a flux parallel to the littoral in July 2005. In PecÃm currents measurements showed the protection effect of the harbour, where current speed was between 0,04 and 0,15 m/s, while offshore it was between 0,17 and 0,41 m/s. The ADCP use in estuarine zone, showed the estratification of Mamanguape river, and allowed a comparation between vertical current profile of salt wedge and well mixture estuaries.

As developers seek to convert the energy of the tides into electricity, sub-sea turbines must be designed to perform well in increasingly harsh conditions. Such energetic seas have historically been avoided, hence measurements taken below the surface in strong tidal currents and large waves are relatively few, and the theory behind these interactions is underdeveloped. This thesis compares measurements of subsurface velocity taken in the field, at a UK site proposed for development, to the velocity outputs of a model capable of combining waves and currents in a number of ways. In particular the interaction between waves and currents is investigated. The methodology incorporates a novel virtual velocity measurement instrument to measure the model flow, replicating the physical instruments used at sea, such that direct comparisons can be made between the two data-sets. Model and field velocities show good agreement across a range of current speeds and wave heights, with a range of metrics used to demonstrate the suitability of the model, based on linear wave-current theory, for this site. The wave-current interaction module is calibrated, with linear superposition of wave and current velocities proving a suitable representation of field velocities. Calculation of a dispersion relationship affected by mean current velocity marginally improves calibration with field data. Analysis of other sites using the tools developed will further validate this type of model, which in combination with blade element momentum theory, is able to predict pre-construction site specific loads on tidal turbines. Doppler Current Profilers (DCPs) are able to measure subsurface water particle kinematics and sea surface elevation simultaneously, however assumptions made by these instruments jeopardise detail when recording in highly energetic seas, particularly where waves and turbulent tidal currents combine. Models developed to optimise the design of tidal turbines require correct site specific inputs to accurately reflect the conditions that a turbine may encounter through its lifetime, moreover, the kinematics of these models must be accurately validated. To overcome the limitations in DCP measurements a 'Virtual' Doppler Current Profiler (VDCP) is developed (Crossley et al. 2017), enabling quantification of error in site characteristics, and 'like for like' comparisons of field and model kinematics that has never previously been documented. The numerical model developed incorporates tidal currents, waves and turbulence combined linearly to output subsurface velocity based on conditions from the field which have been averaged over ten minute intervals. The inputs are simple, time averaged characteristics (current magnitude, direction, and profile; wave height, period and direction, turbulence intensity and turbulence length-scale) and the model outputs velocities over a two dimensional grid that develops with time. The VDCP samples this flow as if it were the very instrument in the field that recorded the data used for validation. Taking into account the heading, pitch and roll of the instrument a data set directly comparable to that measured in the field is generated. The VDCP is initially used in quantifying error in wave and turbulence statistics, demonstrating a phase dependency of velocity measurements averaged between beams and providing a theoretical error for wave and turbulence characteristics sampled under a range of conditions, in order to improve tidal site characterisation. Spectral moments of the subsurface longitudinal wave orbital velocities recorded by the VDCP can be between 0.1 and 9 times those measured at a point for certain turbulent current conditions, turbulence intensity measurements may vary between 0.2 and 1.5 times the input value in low wave conditions and turbulence length scale calculations can vary by over ten times the input value, dependent on both current and wave conditions. The methodology can be used to determine a theoretical error in any site characterisation parameter for any set of wave, current and turbulence conditions. Results of the model validation using the VDCP show that the tidal flow model, and in particular the newly developed wave-current interaction module, is effective in simulating field subsurface velocities over a range of depths, for waves of up to 3m significant wave height and currents of up to 3.5ms-1. The model is effective in reproducing the wave climate using both measured and modelled surface elevation spectra, and tests, with marginal improvements, the effect of modifying the dispersion equation to account for currents. Field and model velocities compare well over the frequency range dominated by waves, showing only small underestimations in model standard deviations with respect to those from field data, at depths close to the sea surface. At the low frequency end of the modelled spectra, where large turbulent eddies dominate, there is some deviation in model accuracy, particularly during the ebb tide where recorded turbulence parameters are extremely variable, creating uncertainty due to a relatively small sample size. Between field and model velocity maxima, some scatter is observed, potentially providing uncertainty in the estimation of ultimate loads. Model and field damage equivalent velocities, used in the determination of fatigue loads, agree well. Results suggest that a linear wave-current representation of subsurface velocities at this particular tidal site is applicable. Care should be taken when interpreting this result due to the relatively small sample size, and the possibility of site specific nuances, and as such further studies are proposed. The Virtual DCP model is a novel development which has proven its usefulness in the work contained in this thesis and in the analysis of commercial field data. It is extremely versatile, adapting to a range of configurations and set up criteria such that it can be used in the quantification of DCP measurement error for a range of flow characteristics. This information is useful in the design of tidal turbines (and other sub-sea structures) as well as for oceanographic and biological processes. The tidal flow model developed extends beyond the capability of similar numerical models with the capability to model the interaction between waves and currents according to a number of different options. Combined with the VDCP, which samples from the model flow field, a system is created that can be effectively calibrated to find the best model solution to replicate flows at a tidal site measured by a 'real' DCP over a broad range of sea conditions and water depths. The purpose is to ensure that models used to predict the sub surface velocities in the field are suitable and a key question was to understand whether the linear super-position of linear wave models and a turbulent current flow provides a realistic model of the particle kinematics with a view to undertaking loads analysis of a tidal stream turbine. Comparisons of this kind have not previously been documented, and this thesis lays out the path to improved site characterisation.

A vessel-mounted ADCP study focusing on channel-scale flow patterns in Galveston Bay near the Houston Shipping Channel and Mid-Bay Island is described. Winds of 5-7 m/s at 215-230◦ from N were present during data collection. For both peak ebb and flood conditions, the tidal circulation forced flow in a direction opposing the wind, perhaps due to a large-scale flow divergence forced by Mid-Bay Island. The strongest such currents were measured closest the island. During peak flood flow, the shape of the along-channel velocity profile for the open water upwind of the channel at Mid-Bay Island indicated uniform flow, and the salinity profile indicated a well-mixed water column. The near-island along- channel velocity profile showed a near-linear trend, and the salinity profile indicated a stratified water column. This suggested that the stratification had some effect the velocity profile shape, but further research is needed to better quantify this effect. During peak ebb flow, the near-island along-channel velocities were highly variable with respect to the mean velocity, indicating an area of active turbulence. Salinity profiles collected in the open water and near-island both showed stratification, something that was not seen during flood conditions. Differences in observations between flood and ebb flows can possibly be attributed to the survey location with respect to the chain of dredge spoil islands. During flood flows Mid-Bay Island is the first of the islands, and the flows surrounding the island may part of a developing horizontal boundary layer. During ebb flows the island is last in the chain relative to the direction of flow, and therefore the surrounding flows are well back from the leading edge of a horizontal boundary layer. / text

A chevron is a U-shaped rock structure constructed for improving navigation conditions by diverting majority of flow towards main channel. The objective of this study is to improve understanding of how chevrons affect channel flow. For this study, a two-dimensional numerical hydrodynamic model of a two-km-long reach of the Mississippi River was developed; three chevrons have been constructed in the modeled reach. The model was calibrated by adjusting Manning's n to match predicted and observed water surface elevations (WSELs). The model was validated using measured WSEL and velocity data from two events: a low-flow discharge (4,500 m3/s) and high-flow discharge (14,000 m3/s). At reach scale the model performed well in predicting WSELs. Average difference between model prediction and observed WSEL was 0.23 m in low-flow condition and 0.05 in high flow condition. Root mean square of errors (RMSEs) and mean absolute errors (MAEs) were used to measure the degree of agreement between predicted and measured velocities. At the reach scale there was reasonable agreement between predicted and observed velocities (RMSE = 0.416 m/s and 0.425 m/s, respectively, for low-flow and high-flow conditions). Local differences between predicted and observed velocities were up to 1.5 m/s; this is attributed to uncertainties in the velocity measurements. The model's sensitivity of to changes in Manning's n, eddy viscosity and bathymetry were also analyzed. The sensitivity analysis showed that there are specific areas (e.g., near the banks of the river) which are sensitive to changes in Manning's n. This indicates that spatial distribution of Manning's n is required to increase the accuracy in the model's predictions of velocity. Model was found to be stable in a specific range of eddy viscosity values. Eddy viscosity had little effect on velocity predictions but was important for model stability (i.e., the model was stable only for a range of eddy viscosity values). Reach scale changes in bathymetry had minor impacts on RMSE and MAE. However, local changes in channel bathymetry resulted in differences in velocity predictions as much as ±0.4 m/s.