Uncertainty estimation of the ADCP velocity measurements from the moving vessel method, (I) development of the framework

Abstract

In this paper, an uncertainty analysis framework for uncertainty analysis of velocity measurements from Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) having four transducers was developed, based on the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) uncertainty analysis standard. In the developed framework, the data reduction equation for computing velocity with the raw ADCP measurements was established from a given common algorithm that has been used in various conventional ADCP post-processing software. The proposed framework was formulated in terms of mathematical expressions that entail the sensitivity coefficients documenting propagation of the uncertainties from the fundamental sources into the ADCP velocity.