A new video and digital camera system for studies of the dynamics of microtopographic features on tidal flats

A newly developed video and camera system for tidal flat microtopographic studies is presented. It consists of a SONY handy cam placed in an underwater housing mounted on a frame about 70 cm above the sediment surface. A rectangular surface area of 30 x 40 cut is imaged by the camera. The camera records video sequences and/or digital images at predetermined time lapses. The total number of images is about 540, and a similar number of 10-second long video sequences can be recorded. The camera is programmed with a PC before deployment, and the total deployment time depends on the tithe lapse between recordings. The camera is connected to an external power supply (12 volt), and a halogen projector pointing towards the sediment surface ensures that the system is operable on a 24-hours scale. The system has been tested hi the Danish Wadden Sea. It has proved to be a very useful tool in studies of topographic effects of erosion and deposition sequences, and for studies of benthic organisms-sediment interactions. The test site was further equipped with sensors for water and seabed measurements, which proved to be indispensable regarding the interpretation of recorded image time-series.