glacier-microFloats-puget-sound-2024

We plan to deploy microFloats - a new, buoyancy-controlled underwater float - around Three Tree Point, in Puget Sound, WA. The primary objective of the field campaign is an engineering validation of the microFloats in support of a broader effort investigating glacier-ocean interactions in LeConte Bay, AK. Prior to the full-field experiment at LeConte, we seek to validate the system upgrades in an accessible location with flow dynamics that will clearly demonstrate the new capabilities. Three Tree Point, a 1-km scale headland in south Puget Sound, has an associated subsurface ridge angling down into the main channel. As tidal flows are accelerated past the headland, the topography produces flow separation and eddies. The scale and features of the site provide an ideal opportunity to validate the new isopycnal and 3D-Lagrangian control strategies. While the focus of the work is instrumentation verification, the anticipated data set is expected to have scientific interest as well.