In this project, the PI will study the creation and evolution of bubbles inside oceanic breaking waves on length scales of the order of millimeters to centimeters, and on millisecond time scales. An optical imaging instrument, based on a successful laboratory instrument will be developed and deployed in the surf zone, along with an underwater video camera, a pressure sensor, and a hydrophone. In the images thus created, air-water boundaries appear as bright lines, larger bubbles appear as bright rings, and smaller bubbles appear as bright dots. Patterns in individual images will give a static view of bubble formation, while the differences between successive images will give a dynamical view of these processes.
