Ship-Mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP): Characteristics and Field Applications to Measure Coastal Hydrodynamics

This article illustrates the main characteristics and a field application of an oceanographic instrument, an acoustic current meter called the ADCP. This current meter is able to measure 3D currents along vertical profiles of the water column. In this study, the ADCP was used on a 12-hour oceanographic cruise carried out in the Gulf of Oristano on a small CNR research vessel in July 2007.