Ocean Currents

Ocean currents are driven by winds, tides and density differences. The ocean circulation regulates the earths climate by transporting heat. The flowing water affects offshore and coastal constructions and also carries particles, animals, plants, nutrients, pollutants and dissolved gases.

To measure water currents, along with other parameters, is crucial to get a good understanding of prevailing forces and how eco systems function and change over time. Currents vary on time scales of seconds to minutes to hours. To obtain reliable information on current dynamics requires instruments that are installed and measure continuously over longer time periods. Spot measurements during shorter expeditions will give limited "snap shot" information.

Methods to measures currents

The “classical” way to measure currents is to use rotor/propeller equipped instruments. Later generations of current meters measure current speed and direction without moving parts with acoustic doppler, acoustic time travel or electromagnetic techniques.

The acoustic doppler technique has become the preferred technology for most users because it is robust, needs no calibrations, can be used for both point (RCM) and profiling (ADCP) measurements and is basically insensitive to fouling.

Acoustic transducers sends acoustic pulses which are reflected against particles and/or gas-bubbles moving in the water. Depending on the direction and speed of the water suspended particles a frequency shift (Doppler shift) in the returned acoustic signal will occur which is used to calculate the water current speed and direction.

Profiling Current Meter

The Aanderaa Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) is a 600 kHz profiler with a range of 30-110 m. It is available as a stand-alone current meter and complete instrument. The profiler has configuration for:

  • Upward or downward use.
  • User selectable broadband/narrow band
  • Parallel columns referenced to the surface and instrument simultaneously
  • Surface current measurements
  • Directional waves
  • Unique ability to collect high quality current information on moving and tilting moorings/buoys
  • Used as stand-alone or with a SeaGuardII multiparameter Platform.

The ADCP can be used with any third party logger capable of reading serial Rs232 and/or Rs422. This is a stand-alone unit stripped to remove overhead of datalogger if not needed.

SeaGuardII DCP is the latest generation of multiparameter instruments from Aaanderaa combining current profiling with other ocean parameters . It has the capacity to serve as an underwater observatory.

Single-Point Current Meter

The SeaGuard platform combined with a suite of Aanderaa Smart Sensors offers large flexibility to adapt the instrument for different missions. Sensors can be plugg-and-play added as desired on to the top plate of the instrument or cable connected or included in sensor strings. Analog and serial ports also makes it possible to add sensor from other manufacturers.

One software, the Real Time collector, is used to communicate and set-up all Aanderaa platforms and smart sensors.

Collected data is plotted and analysed using the 3D-studio software and if the instruments are used on-line the GeoView or the new Hydrosphere softwares are often selected for real-time presentation of the measurements and for database storage.

For shallow water applications we offer the RCM-Blue an affordable, 300m rated, current meter with exceptional autonomy and Blue Tooth communication for set up and data download.


To learn more about these instruments and their abilities please look at this film of a yearly service of two SeaGuard instruments used for coastal monitoring.

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