Development of a self-contained acoustic Doppler current profiler incorporating a digital signal processor

Acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) have become established as an important technique for both vessel mounted and sea-bed self-contained profile measurements. The paper outlines the design, development and deployment methods for a self-contained instrument with applications over a range of depths and sea conditions, from coastal waters to the shelf edge. Signal processing is carried out by a DSP unit under instruction from a micro controller with data directed to solid state non volatile memory as a storage medium. An example of deployment data obtained from a coastal site is presented, depicting current profile structure, and “turbulence” profile activity during a storm event. Future work suggests ways that the instrument may be refined to suit other applications