Near-surface current measurement from a surface following data buoy (DB1)—I

Abstract

Abstract The measurement of near-surface current in the open sea presents difficult problems, of both sensor design and mooring in the surface wave field. However, knowledge of such currents is of considerable importance in research and offshore engineering. Consequently the development of an acoustic surface current meter has received particular attention within an experimental data buoy project which has been undertaken in the United Kingdom (DB1 Project). The development of any new sensor is necessarily followed by a thorough analysis of its performance, and it is this aspect to which this paper is devoted. The first part describes an experiment in which the displacements of drifting floats, tracked acoustically, were compared with the integrated output from the acoustic current meter: also a comparison with a buoy-mounted electromagnetic sensor. The extent of agreement between these different techniques is examined. A subsequent part discusses some longer term aspects of the performance of the current meter, which has operated almost continuously for 18 months at a test site close to the east coast of England.