Discharge - ADCP comparison
Contents:
This information is supposed to help you in comparing the currently available ADCPs (Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers). It was generated in Sep, 2013. Please feel free correct and to update.
General:
To our knowledge, ADCPs are currently offered by only three companies: Ott, SonTek and RDI/Teledyne. Whereas Ott uses Nortek-sensors and fits them into their system, SonTek and RDI include produce their own sensors.
An ADCP-system consists of
- the sensor - which does the actual measurements
- the platform - a small board or raft on which the sensor is mounted (can be omitted if the ADCP is to be operated from an ordinary boat)
- the communication unit - ensures the data transfer between the control unit and the sensor
- control unit - usually a laptop or PDA with special software
- GPS-system - optional, may include dGPS base station
SonTek and RDI/Teledyne let you combine these components more or less freely; for Ott, the system is premanufactured and cannot be altered by the user.
Things to consider:
- intended range of river depths: The sensors differ considerably in their range. Especially measuring shallow flow can be problematic.
- platform: Do you want to operate the ADCP from a small tethered boat, remotely controlled boat, an ordinary one or be flexible?
- bottom tracking vs. GPS: bottom tracking determines the sensors position RELATIVE to the river bed (precise and fast; problematic with great depths or moving bed). GPS uses satellites for getting ABSOLUTE positions (no problem with moving beds; GPS reception is often poor down in the valley)
- GPS, dGPS, GNSS, RTK: What is sold as "dGPS" is often only a SBAS-corrected GPS (only rover, no base). dGPS with postprocessing may not be possible. RTK provides high real time accuracy, but requires a base station. Systems supporting other positioning standards (GLONASS, Galileo) may provide better fix in marginal locations.
- integration of existing equipment (PDA, GPS): May not be easily possible, make sure.
Sensor:
Name | company | # transducers | frequency | Sensor blanking | minimum water depth | maximum water depth | velocity range | max no of cells | accuracy | Bottom tracking | remarks | price | date |
(m) | (m) | (m) | (relative) | ||||||||||
Qliner | OTT | 3? | 2 MHz | 0.35 | 10 | +/- 10 m/s | 40 | 1 % | no | includes vertical beam, 2d only | 18100.00 | Sep 2013 (Germany) | |
1 MHz | 0.45 | 20 | 40 | vertical methods | |||||||||
RiverSurveyor S5/M9 | SonTek | 5 | S5: 5 Sensoren (3 MHz) | 0.06 | 0,3 | 5 (15) | +/- 20 m/s | 128 | up to 0,25 % | yes | variable cell size | 16000.00 | Sep 2013 (Germany) |
9 | M9: 9 Sensoren (3 + 1 MHz) | 0.06 | 0,3 | 40 (80) | 27200.00 | Sep 2013 (Germany) | |||||||
using BT (GPS) | |||||||||||||
River Cat | SonTek | 5/3/1,5 MHz | 2/3/10 | 0,25/0,5/0,8 | +/- 10 m/s | ? | 0,1 cm/s | yes | up to 100 cells | no longer available | |||
Rio Grande Workhorse | Teledyne RDI | 4 | 1.2 MHz | 0.05 | 0.6 (0.5) | 25 (30) | +/- 20 m/s | 128/255 | 0,25 % | yes | 128 cells | 35300.00 | Aug 2013 (Germany) |
0.6 MHz | 0.25 | 0.7 | 80 | 128/255 | |||||||||
RiverRay | Teledyne RDI | 4+1 | 0.6 MHz | 0.6 (0.4) | 40 (60) | +/- 20 m/s | 200 | up to 0,25 % | yes | includes vertical beam as of new | 38700.00 | Aug 2013 (Germany) | |
80 for z only | |||||||||||||
Stream Pro | Teledyne RDI | ? | 2 MHz | 0,1 | 6 | +/- 5 m/s | 30 | 1 % | yes | 30 cells | 33300.00 | Aug 2013 (Germany) | |
(version with depth upgrade) | |||||||||||||
Platform:
Name | Company | fits sensor | replaceable by user | operation | shape | weight (empty/complete, kg) | size | price (€) | date |
Riverboat | Oceanscience | Teledyne RDI Workhorse | yes | tethered | trimaran | 7/14 | 121x81 cm | 5700.00 | Aug 2013 (Germany) |
Riverboat ST | Oceanscience | SonTek RiverSurveyor S5 or M9 | yes? | tethered | trimaran | ||||
StreamPro (standard) | RDInstruments | Teledyne RDI StreamPro | yes | tethered | trimaran | -/5 | 70x44x11 cm | ||
Riverboat SP | Oceanscience | Teledyne RDI StreamPro | yes | tethered | trimaran | 114cm x 81cm | 4900.00 | Aug 2013 (Germany) | |
High-Speed Riverboat | Oceanscience | SonTek and Teledyne RDI | yes? | tethered | trimaran | 13.6 | 152x122 cm | 8900.00 | Jun 2011 (Germany) |
Qliner | Ott | Ott/Nortek | no | tethered | catamaran | ||||
Hydroboard 0.91 | Sontek | SonTek RiverSurveyor S5 or M9 | ? | tethered | board | 91 cm | 2400.00 | Aug 2013 (Germany) | |
Hydroboard 1.19 | Sontek | SonTek RiverSurveyor S5 or M9 | ? | tethered | board | 119 cm | 3200.00 | Aug 2013 (Germany) | |
Q-Boat 1800P | Oceanscience | various | yes | remote | single hull | 25/40 | 180cm x 89cm | 21900.00 | Sep 2013 (Germany) |
Q-Boat 1800D | Oceanscience | various | yes | remote | single hull | 25/40 | 180cm x 89cm | 13600.00 | Sep 2013 (Germany) |
Q-Boat 1550T | Oceanscience | ? | ? | remote | trimaran | ||||
Workhorse | RDInstruments | Teledyne RDI | yes | tethered | trimaran | 10/17 | 120x80x18 cm | ||
Riverray | RDInstruments/Oceanscience | Teledyne RDI | yes | tethered | trimaran | 10/17 | 120x80x18 cm | ||
Torrent Board V4 standard | Sontek | SonTek RiverSurveyor S5 or M9 | ? | tethered | board | 4.7/9.8 | 105x65 cmx25 | 3900.00 | Aug 2013 (Germany) |
Torrent Board V4 mini (SFF) | Sontek | SonTek RiverSurveyor S5 or M9 | ? | tethered | board | 3.1/8.2 | 80x50x15 cm | ||
Links
http://rdinstruments.com/wr_main.aspx
http://www.rdinstruments.com/riverray.aspx
http://www.rdinstruments.com/streampro.aspx
http://www.rdinstruments.com/rio.aspx
[http://www.oceanscience.com/Products/Tethered-Boats/High-Speed-Riverboat.aspx http://www.oceanscience.com/Products/Tethered-Boats/High-Speed-Riverboat.aspx]
http://www.sontek.com/riversurveyor-s5-m9.php
[http://www.ott-hydrometry.de/web/ott_de.nsf/id/pa_produkte_qliner2_d.html http://www.ott-hydrometry.de/web/ott_de.nsf/id/pa_produkte_qliner2_d.html]