This experiment studied the effect of streamwise vortices on unsteady turbulent boundary-layer separation. The objectives were to document the flow field, to characterize the time response of the boundary layer, and to understand the actual mechanisms by which the streamwise vortices modify boundary-layer behavior. A new configuration for non-obtrusive three-component Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) determined the phase averaged velocity and Reynolds stress components, in an unsteady water tunnel, at a momentum thickness Reynolds number of 1840. The streamwise vortices were created by three pairs of half-delta wing vortex generators, while the boundary-layer separation was controlled through impulsively initiated opposite-wall suction, which created a strong adverse pressure gradient. The time response of the freestream velocity demonstrates that convection is the primary mechanism by which vortex generators modify the response of the boundary layer. There is an initial fast response throughout the boundary layer which is unaffected by the presence of vortex generators, followed by a slow or convective response, the magnitude of which is substantially modified by the presence of the vortex generators. Flow control, Unsteady turbulent layers. Aircraft, Vortex generators. (jes).