Paul Macoun:			...Turbulence and Mixing Estimates Using a Towed Horizontal microstructure Profiler

				On August 17, 2000, the CCG vessel Vector made a stop at Race Rocks to conduct research experiments with a focus on understanding mixing processes in the area The Race Rocks Marine Protected Area viewed from the South. Rocky Point and the Metchosin hills appear in the background on the North side.Turbulent surface water in foreground. On board was the Ocean Turbulence Lab's (OTL) Towed Ocean Microstructure Instrument (TOMI). TOMI gives incite into the mixing processes that redistribute heat, salt and energy in the ocean.
			TOMI was towed west of Race Rocks on the ebb tide and east of it on the flood tide . In these areas impressive surface eddies, upwellings and convergence zones were seen. TOMI supports an array of oceanographic sensors. The nose houses airfoil shear probes, thermistors, and conductivity and temperature sensors. Other data collected in the Race Rocks area were vertical profiles of the water column. Temperature, conductivity and relevant depth were recorded using a CTD. A former Lester B. Pearson College student Paul Macoun, (PC yr15) who is now studying oceanography at the University of Victoria, was aboard the expedition as part of a team of scientists doing oceanographic research. He provided these photos and some preliminary observations : During both tides, significant levels of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy were measured. This energy eventually turns, through the cascade of big eddies to smaller and smaller scales, into heat through friction. This vigorous cascade allows for thorough mixing and a measurable re-distribution of scalars such as heat, salt and momentum. See the ABSTRACT of PROPOSAL on Turbulence and mixing estimates using a towed horizontal microstructure profiler.
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