This work combines instrument development and scientific observations and seeks to apply a proven laboratory technique to the observation of turbulence in the coastal ocean. A Particle Imagery Velocimetry (PIV) instrument will be deployed on an extensible platform resting on the sea-floor in coastal waters. After testing, the device will be deployed in 15m of water at the LEO-15 site and used to repeatedly measure the flow field over an area of from 0.25 to 0.5 m^2. The resulting data will be used to examine various properties of turbulence in the coastal ocean and its dependence on environmental parameters such as stratification, wave state and macroscopic shear. Additional data will be collected from the instrument suite already in place at LEO-15 in order to characterize the environmental parameters. Separate deployments during late spring and fall will allow the PIs to study turbulence in different degrees of stratification.
