The Vertical Structure of Shallow Water Flow in the Surf Zone and Inner Shelf

: The objectives of this effort are: 1. Theoretical investigations of the vertical structure of mean currents, tidal flows, and low frequency (infragravity) oscillations on the inner shelf and inside the surf zone. This work expands on recent theoretical developments for shear instabilities that follow methodology developed for tidal flows on the continental shelf. Results will be compared with field data examined as part of the second objective. 2. Ongoing examination of the spatial and temporal variations in wave breaking patterns and its relationship to surface mean and oscillatory flow inside the surf zone. This objective will be accomplished using video-based field observations of wave breaking distributions (from timestack imagery) and surface flow measurements (from PIV analysis) obtained as part of the 2003 NCEX field experiment.