Down by the CSIDE: Aerial Hyperspectral and In Situ Measurements of a Nearshore Dye Release.

Understanding the cross-shelf exchange of nearshore sourced tracers across the surfzone and onto the stratified inner-shelf is critical to be able to predict the evolution of pollution events, HAB, and larval transport, which will enable policy and mitigation efforts. The CSIDE (Cross-Surfzone / Inner-shelf Dye Exchange) experiment (Sept & Oct 2015) will provide observations to quantify dye tracer exchange across the surfzone/inner-shelf region with 3 dye release experiments. Shoreline released dye and temperature will be tracked for ~48 hrs and ~20 km using aerial hyperspectral and IR imagery; in situ near-shoreline fluorometers, moored wire-walkers, AUV, and boat based towed observations. Analysis of these data will reveal the extent to which the inner-shelf is a “material barrier,” whether an observed surfzone dye and temperature correlation is maintained on the stratified inner-shelf, at what time- and length-scales, and the processes influencing this relationship. Here we will report on the CSIDE aerial hyperspectral and in situ observations, specifically examining the alongshore and cross-shore dye extent and vertical distribution offshore.