Infrared-Based Measurements of Velocity, Turbulent Kinetic Energy, and Dissipation at the Water Surface in a Tidal River

Thermal infrared (IR)-based particle image ve locimetry (PIV) is used to measure the evolution of velocity, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and the TKE dissipation rate at the water surface in the tidally influenced Snohomish River. Patterns of temperature variability in the IR imagery arise from disruption of the cool-skin layer and are used to estimate the 2-D velocity field. Comparisons of IR-based PIV mean velocity made with a colocated acoustic velocimeter demonstrate high cor relation (r
²
>; 0.9). Over a tidal period, surface TKE computed from the IR velocity varies from 10
^-4
to 3 × 10
^-3
J · kg
^-1
, with an average difference from the in situ measurements of 8%. IR-derived TKE dissipation rates vary from approximately 3 × 10
^-6
to 2 × 10
^-4
W · kg
^-1
at peak ebb, agreeing on average to within 7% of the in situ velocimeter results. IR-based PIV provides detailed measurements of previously inaccessible surface velocities and turbulence statistics.