An instrument system for long‐term sediment transport studies on the continental shelf

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Abstract
A bottom‐mounted instrument system has been designed and built to monitor processes of bottom sediment movement on the continental shelf. The system measures bottom current speed and direction, pressure, temperature, and light transmission and photographs the bottom. The system can be deployed for periods of 2–6 months to monitor intermitent processes of sediment movement such as storms and to assess seasonal variability. Deployments of the system on the U.S. east coast continental shelf show sediment resuspension and changes in bottom microtopography due to surface waves, tidal currents, and storms.