A coastal deployment of a commercial multiple frequency acoustic backscatter sediment profiler

Recently, an Aquatec AQUAscat 1000 multiple frequency acoustic backscatter suspended sediment profiler was deployed from 10 October 2006 to 29 November 2006 and from 4 December 2006 to 18 January 2007, at Sea Palling in Norfolk, on the North Sea coast, as part of the LEACOAST2 EPSRC shore parallel breakwater study. The objective of the study is to evaluate the effects of shore parallel breakwaters in tidal environments on coastal morphology. The instrument deployments are intended to provide validation and calibration data for new numerical process models. Sediment traps and two other acoustic backscatter instruments were also deployed to obtain site samples and comparative data.