Shipboard ADCP Measurements

Abstract

Ship-mounted acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) have been used for over 25 years, and have been available on most research ships for much of that time. They are easy to operate on a routine basis, permitting nearly continuous monitoring of upper ocean current structure beneath each ship. Nevertheless, their potential has not been fully realized for a variety of reasons, including data degradation because of poor system installations; lack of monitoring to detect and correct system faults; lack of attention to data processing and archiving; and lack of clearance to make measurements in foreign EEZs. The purpose of this document is to provide a starting point, an introduction, for those who may wish to improve the future usefulness of shipboard ADCPs. Additional historical background and detail may be found in the predecessor to this document (WHPO, 1994) and in King et al., 2001. More up-to-date details about the relevant hardware and software will typically be found in evolving documents on the web, some of which will be referenced here. In some cases, the interested reader may need to make personal inquiries in order to get the latest information