Dr. Eric D. Thosteson

Assistant Professor, Marine and Environmental Systems

Dr. Thosteson’s research interests include small-scale coastal sediment transport, particularly in its measurement in coastal waters and the theory as applied to coastal engineering design. Much of his work involves utilizing high-frequency sonar to obtain images of sand suspension and seabed morphology.

Currently, he is involved in improving the methods of determining sand concentration, grain-size and sand velocity from acoustic signals, which will ultimately aid in the prediction of sand movement on the coast.

Selected areas of research include:

• Development of small, efficient, underwater instrumentation systems to monitor sediment transport and hydrodynamic conditions in the nearshore region of coastal waters over duration of days to months
• Examination of sediment suspension and transport at low frequencies, particularly those frequencies associated with wave groups, or sets of waves, and infragravity waves
• Determination of suspended sand concentration, size and velocity from backscattered signals of multiple acoustic beams and multiple sound pulses
• Improvements in underwater acoustic imaging in low-visibility coastal waters