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Sebastian Inlet Data:Real Time Historical |
Our four wave gages can be deployed for 1-3 months at a time depending on battery life, and we have several co-deployed to ensure accuracy of data. Since late 2001, the main wave gage has been a Sontek ADCP, which is capable of measuring current speeds at different water depths in addition to determining directional wave parameters. Since then, the Nortek AquaDopp, Nortek AquaPro, and R.D. Instruments wave gages have been added to the system. We are in the process of making the R.D.I. our main gage. ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) wave gages measure water particle velocity components in three dimensions using sonar technology and the Doppler Effect. Transducers (sensors) on the ADCP send out sound pulses that bounce off of “scatterers” in the ocean and then return to the sensors (Wikipedia 2006). The ADCP tracks the movement of the scatterers, and thus movement of the water particles (Wikipedia 2006). Data can either be stored on an internal memory card or collected real-time via a double-armored steel cable. A note on wave direction: the shoreline in the vicinity of Sebastian Inlet runs NW-SE, so that the shore normal direction (perpendicular to the shoreline) at Sebastian Inlet is at approximately 62 degrees with respect to true north. Waves arriving from angles less than 62 degrees indicate an approach from the north with respect to the shore normal and waves arriving from angles greater than 62 degrees indicate an approach from the south with respect to the shore normal. Waves arriving parallel to the shore have a wave direction from 62 degrees, and result in no longshore current.
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