INTRODUCING GRADUATE STUDENTS INTO OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTRUMENTATION AND DATA POST-PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

The dynamic behaviour of coastal environments and the underlying physical processes are trending topics in coastal engineering which can be studied in different ways. One of them is by real measurements through the anchoring of the specific instrumentation. This work introduces the students into the fundamental aspects of the science and engineering necessary for exploring real coastal environments. Students work with different instruments and collaborate in the field deployment to collect and analyse real data.

The main objectives of this work are:
(1) showing the students the basic principles of the instrumentation required for field measurements related to coastal environments and
(2) learning post-process techniques for the analysis of the collected data.

The specific objectives cover learning the basic principles to design a real field survey, exporting the data in the appropriate format and the final post-process of the data by means of different softwares.

Moreover, to reach these main goals is essential to:
(a) provide a basic training in the theory and application of physical oceanography;
(b) familiarize the students with modern oceanographic instrumentation and observational techniques;
(c) introduce them to data analysis and fundamental modelling methods; and finally,
(d) provide students with the practical experience and physical understanding necessary to address significant problems in coastal environments.

With our experience, we conclude that the usage of the real instrumentation and real post-processing data provide practical knowledge and skills, and develop personal and professional attributes, in order to prepare students for future engineering practice that exploits new science and technology. Given its simplicity and low cost, specially if the instrumentation has been already purchased for research purposes, it constitutes also a good method to introduce graduate students to research, since they can participate in all research processes.