Investigating flow features in vicinity of Palau using an array of Pressure-recording Inverted Echo Sounders

초록

An array of five Pressure-recording Inverted Echo Sounders (PIES) was deployed to perform year-long monitoring of large scale flow features around the central and northern region of Palau as part of the ONR FLEAT program. These PIES were integrated with an additional array of four Current and Pressurerecording Inverted Echo Sounders (CPIES) to form a comprehensive monitoring configuration. In this region, the North Equatorial Current encounters the abrupt topography of Palau and we seek to better understand the key physical processes that consequently arise. We present some preliminary results on what can be inferred from the records of acoustic travel time and bottom pressure. Furthermore, regional models and SAR imagery suggest that large amplitude solitary waves may be present in the vicinity of Palua, and so two of the PIES were configured in a rapid mode in order to detect their presence. Consistent with this, data from early in our Rapid-PIES records reveal a period of seemingly strong internal wave activity.