Observations of turbulence and the geometry and circulation of windrows in a small bay in the St. Lawrence Estuary

Measurements of ocean turbulence, waves, and the geometry and circulation of windrows were made over 5 days in early March in a small bay in the St. Lawrence Estuary. Measurements were made from a small zodiac and from a SWIFT drifter. Two acoustic doppler velocity profilers (ADCPs) were used from the zodiac to measure water velocity and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation rates near the surface. The acoustic backscatter from the ADCPs was used in conjunction with a GPS to map the location and spacing of wind aligned rows of bubbles. The SWIFT drifter provided measurements of waves, wind stress, and secondary measurements of TKE dissipation rates. Imagery of the surface was taken with a GoPro camera mounted on the zodiac, and with a DJI MavicPro quadcopter.
Funding was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s Postdoctoral Scholar Program and by the Interdisciplinary Award. This work was also partially supported by the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) project WAVE-ICE (PS), and the project WAVESCALE under the “Laboratoire d’Excellence” LabexMER (ANR-10-LABX-19) co-funded by a grant from the French government under the program “Investissements d’Avenir” (PS). The BicWin experiment during which this study occurred is funded by the MEOPAR Network of Centers of Excellence (DD) and is a contribution to the research program of Québec-Océan.