Rapid environmental assessment in the nearshore

An instrument suite has been developed to assist in performing Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) in the nearshore. The suite permits real-time monitoring of point values of wave height, wave period, wave direction, mean water level, and longshore currents, local meteorological conditions, and spatial information such as shoreline location, surf zone width, number of lines of surf and the location of shallow topographic features. Composed of three major components, the suite includes a pressure–current meter, a meteorological station, and a video monitoring system. All individual components include an energy source, a separate CPU and satellite communication systems so that they can autonomously provide real-time information remotely. Data examples from a test deployment during the MREA04 field trial are presented and control measurements from traditionally deployed instruments are used to help assess instrument reliability and the general utility of such measurement in the nearshore.