Scientific analysis of Thalassia testudinum leaves

Seagrass meadows are an important element of coastal ecosystems and they perform numerous environmental functions. Because of their importance, the ability to properly monitor the health of the seagrass meadows is imperative. Seagrass can greatly affect acoustic propagation and therefore acoustics can be used for remotely sensing the health of the meadow. To do so, an accurate model of sound propagation within seagrass is required. Knowledge of the volume of gas contained within seagrass leaves is a requisite part of the process. The first two chapters of this report describe the microscopic imaging, and image analysis, of seagrass leaves that were used in associated laboratory acoustic measurements. The last chapter of this report describes the preparation of an acoustic measurement apparatus, a one-dimensional resonator tube, that was used to measure the effective sound speed of seagrass tissue in water. The results themselves and discussion of the measurements are outside the scope of the present report but citations that direct the reader to those results are provided.Mechanical Engineerin