Measurement of bottom velocities and shear stresses by ferrofluids at the sea bottom

A novel direct measurement strategy of bottom velocities and shear stresses based on the use of ferrofluids is presented. The proposed methodology is aimed at overcoming some of the limits of state-of-the-art instruments, for use in presence of both surface waves and sediments. An inductive readout strategy is proposed along with experimental results which indicate the applicability of the proposed strategy.