Littoral Sensors for Naval Special Forces

We propose to develop a compact, easily deployed (diver, small boat, helicopter) sensor system that transmits shallow-water (between the shoreline and about 15-m water depth) observations of waves, currents, water temperature, tides, and other parameters via satellite or cellular telephone to a receiving station on board a ship or on land. Consultation with Navy Special Forces will determine the optimal set of parameters to measure and transmit. The sensor systems will include acoustic Doppler current meters combined with existing satellite communications hardware and unique mounting frames. Based on experience obtained during several ONR-funded research projects, the PIs have shown that these instruments provide high quality measurements of waves and currents in nearshore waters, even in the surfzone where the presence of wave-breaking generated bubbles and suspended sediment complicate acoustic velocimetry. On-board data processing will reduce high-resolution time-series measurements to easily transmitted parameters (e.g., mean current speed, wave height and direction, tide level, water temperature) required by Special Forces for operations and for initializing numerical model simulations of littoral processes.