Kuchinoshima Island ocean current measurements for Kuroshio Current energy

Ocean currents were observed near Kuchinoshima Island, a potential installation site for a current energy converter development project to harness the energy of the Kuroshio Current. Field measurements were taken for a range of frequencies and vertical positions using both Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) and Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) instruments. Using these tools to measure the current, we use velocity statistics to analyze the ocean current characteristics and metrics including turbulence intensity, turbulent kinetic energy, and coherent turbulent kinetic energy which are known to influence the behavior of current turbines. Spectral analysis is then used to show the various scales of fluctuation in the ocean current. The spectral range was on the order of 10
^-3
Hz to 2 or 8 Hz based on the limitations of the observation campaign duration and the ADCP and ADV specifications.