Absolute water velocity profiles from glider-mounted acoustic doppler current profilers

Graduation date: 2013This paper details a method to compute absolute water velocity profiles from glider-based acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements based on the "shear method" developed for lowered ADCPs. The instrument is a 614-kHz Teledyne RDI ADCP integrated into the body of a Teledyne Webb Research Slocum Glider. Shear is calculated from velocity measurements and averaged over depth intervals to create a dive-averaged shear profile. Absolute velocities are computed by vertically integrating shear profiles yielding relative velocity profiles and then referencing them to dive-average velocity measurements calculated from glider dead-reckoning and GPS. Bottom-track referenced velocities also provide absolute velocities when bottom-tracking is available, and can be applied to relative velocities, producing absolute velocity profiles through linear fitting. Data quality control is based on ADCP percent good measurements. Compass heading bias corrections are applied to the raw ADCP measurements before averaging shear profiles. Comparison between simultaneous, full-water column velocities referenced to dive-average currents and those referenced to bottom-track profiles, resulted in RMS error values of 0.05 m s⁻¹ for both north and east components. During open ocean deployments, the glider ADCP recorded velocities concurrent and proximate to vessel ADCP measurements in waters of similar thermal characteristics. The combined comparison analysis resulted in RMS error values ranging 0.08-0.31 m s⁻¹ and 0.06-0.21 m s⁻¹ for north and east components, respectively