Acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements made during the Patcher Experiment (PATCHEX) in the Pacific Ocean are examined for the occurrence of high-wavenumber shear (vertical scales of >2 m) which is presumed to lead to patches of small-scale waves and turbulent mixing. Shear is found to be dominated by near-inertial waves having upward energy propagation and ~30-m vertical wavelengths over the depth range ~80--180 m. The predominance of upgoing waves is unexpected and supports the RiNo float measurements made by Kunze et al. (1990a) at 180 to 200-m depth. Profiles of rms shear are qualitatively similar to those measured by Gregg and Sanford (1988) with the multi-scale profiler (MSP); and the fraction of time shear exceeds a threshold based on Gregg's (1989) scaling in about 10%, similar to the fraction of active turbulence seen in MSP profiles of dissipation rate. Towed thermistor chain data show infrequent patches of short (~15 m) waveforms which may be Kelvin--Helmholtz shear instabilities (as assumed by Kunze et al.). The data support previous suggestions that near-inertial waves are important sources of turbulent mixing in the thermocline. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1992