Near-Bed Currents and Sediment Transport on the Inner Scotian Shelf During CASP

The Canadian Atlantic Storms Program (CASP) provided a unique opportunity to correlate near-bed current, measurements with surface wave characteristics on the inner Scotian Shelf during the winter of 1986. This study was conducted in support of a companion investigation of seabed scour in depths of 20, 30 and 37 m in the same area.Near-bed current measurements with electromagnetic current meters sampling at 1 Hz during 56 minute intervals were used to calculate sediment transport rates using the Vincent-Young-Swift transport model.The resulting transport estimates range from 0 to 443 kg m^-1hr^-1. These estimates are comparable to measurements obtained on Sable Island Bank under similar conditions. The near-bed current measurements show good agreement with the surface wave records and warrant further investigation to extend the prediction of sediment transport rates on the Scotian Shelf on the basis of surface wave climate and circulation patterns.