Moored acoustic Doppler current profiler data reduction and database applications

Abstract

One problem inherent in collecting vast amounts of oceanographic data such as acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data is processing, editing, and storing these data so that they may be retrieved in a useful form. In this paper the authors outline the processing phase and discuss the underlying problems associated with preparing a final moored ADCP data set for end users. In this case the end user is the U.S. Navy, and the data may be used in various ways. For most purposes, edited raw data yield vital information on tides, storm surges, and seasonal variations. Another use for these data is to develop and constrain models of basin circulation. For this purpose the data must be further refined by the end user. Processing of raw ADCP data has been useful in obtaining ground truth for ocean circulation models in certain areas of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. Examples in these areas use processed ADCP data to study movement of pollutants with the motion of the water mass.