In many coastal species, a critical platonic larval stage is spent in the waters of the inner continental shelf, the most shoreward few kilometers of the shelf where depths are typically less than 30 m. Our knowledge of the parameters of the shelf where these planktonic larvae live is meager. Physical processes which strongly influence the biology, such as sediment transport and the stratification and circulation of inner shelf waters, are poorly understood. A major goal of this study is to obtain synoptic, moored, long-term measurements of biological, physical and sediment transport parameters at the same time and space scales. The field program is aimed at gaining insight into the processes that may control the successful dispersal and settlement of planktonic larvae of organisms living in near-shore sandy sediments. The study is designed so that critical disciplinary, as well as interdisciplinary questions can be addressed. The basic hypothesis guiding the research is that planktonic larvae of organisms living in the intertidal zone (or in very shallow water) exploit the circulation of the inner shelf to control their cross- shelf transport.
