Sea-Truth Experiments On Acoustic Doppler Current Profiling Systems

Two experiments were conducted in the summer of 1982 with "off-the-shelf" AMETEK-Straza DCP4400 acoustic Doppler current profiling systems. The first experiment compared a bottom-mounted upward-looking 300 kHz system against moored current measuring systems. Conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiles, water samples, and meteorological data were collected to augment the current measurements and aid in the interpretation of the acoustic Doppler measurements. The second experiment involved real-time comparisons between the downward-looking 115 kHz acoustic profiling system installed on the NOAA Ship RESEARCHER and current measurements made with an EG&G - Vector Measuring Current Meter (VMCM) lowered from the ship while on station off the coast of Florida. This paper presents the results from both experiments along with a discussion on the performance of the AMETEK-Straza DCP4400 systems.