Sebastian Inlet District Grant Funds Florida Tech Study

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Tech associate professor of ocean engineering, Lee Harris, P.E., has received a $120,000 continuation grant from the Sebastian
Inlet District (SID) to collect and analyze oceanographic and meteorological data at the inlet. The information includes data on waves, water temperature,
wind speed and direction, air temperature, and barometric pressure.

Harris and his students designed, deployed, and operate a weather station at the seaward end of the north jetty, and a submerged acoustic Doppler current
profiler north of the inlet. He has collected data there since 1996, making possible a 10-year analysis of meteorological and oceanographic conditions.

The data are used to assist the SID in the management of Sebastian Inlet, providing environmental information about coastal processes in and around the
inlet. The SID uses the data for the maintenance and repair of the coastal and navigational structures, and to maintain and improve the inlet navigation
channel.

Work at Florida Tech and in the field continues, led by Harris and graduate students Chris Flanary and Kevin Hodgens.

New work includes installation of a new weather station that provides real time data posting (visit http://research.fit.edu/wavedata/), installation of
equipment for measuring water levels and sea surface temperatures at the Sebastian Inlet north jetty and installation of a sea cable, which will allow real
time wave data posting.

The Department of Marine and Environmental Systems offers degree programs in costal zone management, environmental sciences, marine science, meteorology,
ocean engineering, Earth remote sensing, oceanography and environmental resource
management.