The Accelerations of a Wave Measurement Buoy Impacted by Breaking Waves in the Surf Zone

A spherical wave measurement buoy capable of detecting breaking waves has been designed and built. The buoy is 16 inches in diameter and houses a 9 degree of freedom inertial measurement unit (IMU). The orientation and acceleration of the buoy is continuously logged at frequencies up to 200 Hz provi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Adam C Brown, Robert K Paasch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/9/2/214
Description
Summary:A spherical wave measurement buoy capable of detecting breaking waves has been designed and built. The buoy is 16 inches in diameter and houses a 9 degree of freedom inertial measurement unit (IMU). The orientation and acceleration of the buoy is continuously logged at frequencies up to 200 Hz providing a high fidelity description of the motion of the buoy as it is impacted by breaking waves. The buoy was deployed several times throughout the winter of 2013–2014. Both moored and free-drifting data were acquired in near-shore shoaling waves off the coast of Newport, OR. Almost 200 breaking waves of varying type and intensity were measured over the course of multiple deployments. The characteristic signature of spilling and plunging breakers was identified in the IMU data.
ISSN:2077-1312