Assessment of sub-surface mooring dynamics with acoustic Doppler current meters in high speed environments

Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) twentysix Streamlined Underwater Buoyancy Systems (SUBS) were analyzed during the 2002-2005 field seasons in Southeast Alaska; Cook Inlet, Alaska and Humboldt Bay, California. SUBS have been deployed at various depths, current speeds, tidal ranges and other conditions. The performance of each SUBS deployment is evaluated by the pressure and tilts data recorded by the ADCP. Assessing the vertical movement of the SUBS is critical to evaluating the data quality. The tide signal as observed at a nearby NOAA National Water Level Observation Network station is subtracted from the pressure sensor record to approximate the vertical movement of the buoy. The mooring lengths range from 3 meters to 100 meters with speeds up to 3 meters per second.