ADCP DATA

Large-scale observations of the structure of the Florida Current reveal a “core” of relatively high-speed (~2 m/s) flow near the surface about 20 km offshore of the southeast coast of Florida. Although, on average, all of the water in the Florida Straits flows northward, it is this core of the Florida Current that is of the most interest to energy developers, because the power that can be obtained from a moving fluid is proportional to the cube of the fluid’s speed.

What is less well understood is the variability of the speed and position of this high-speed core. Because such variability is of great interest to the ocean-energy community, SNMREC has undertaken an observational program using long-term deployments of acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs). These systems use underwater sound waves much in the same fashion that radar uses radio waves in the atmosphere. By positioning an upward-looking acoustic current profiler near the bottom, it is possible to obtain the current speed and direction throughout the water column. Such current profiles are measured every half hour; by using several of these profiling systems, variations over both time and space can be inferred, analyzed, and assessed for their implications for marine renewable energy recovery.

SNMREC has also deployed shore-based radar systems that use backscattering from the sea surface to infer the surface current over a large offshore area, one that includes the positions of the acoustic profiling systems. The combination of these two approaches will provide a more detailed assessment of the Florida Current and its small-scale variations than has been previously available.

These are the types of measurements that are available and ongoing:

Ocean Surface Radar
Subsea Moored Current Profilers
Vessel-based Current Profiling

AVAILABLE ADCP DATA

All data available for download are in CSV (comma-separated value text) file format. Files DO NOT include and quality assurance or quality control. As indicated in each file's header, each file includes uncorrected time series data and are to be applied at the user's risk.

Moored ADCP Data

ADCP-0004 PB01, PB03, PB04 & PB05 (August 2015-October 2016)

PB01

PB03

PB04

PB05

ADCP-0003 B2, B5 & B6 (May 2013-April 2014)

ADCP-0002 B2 & B3 (May 2012-December 2012)

ADCP-0001 B2 & B3 (November 2011-April 2012)

ADCP-IRENE B3 (August 2011-November 2011)

BIRENE

ADCP-IRENE(B3) 2011 Current Magnitude and Direction

ADCP-0000 B1 & B2 (February 2009-March 2010)

ADCP-0000 B2 Current Magnitude and Direction

Additional data sets will be made available as systems are collected and data is formatted. To be notified when they become available, send an email to snmrec@fau.edu with the subject line: “ADD USER TO DATA NOTIFICATION GROUP” and list your email address in the body of the email.