New approach to measurement of sediment processes in a tidal inlet

Strong tidal currents, shallow water, waves and mobile bed sediments present in many tidal inlets prevent deployment of instrumentation using benthic frames and restrict measurements that can be obtained safely from a boat and thus data from these environments remain scarce. Recent deployments of the new POL Instrument Package (PIP) from a jack-up barge have provided a solution to this problem. Here the performance of the various sensors on the PIP is assessed critically and the degree to which near-bed processes are affected by the PIP is investigated by comparing measured and predicted flows, bedforms and rates of sediment transport.