ADCP in Amaliapoli Port: Ocean Current Measurement

1. Where is Amaliapoli Port?

Overall Information about Amaliapoli Port

Amaliapoli Port is a coastal port located in Greece. It has a relatively small to medium - sized scale and throughput. The port serves local trade as well as some regional shipping connections. It is involved in the transportation of goods such as local agricultural produce, fishing products, and light industrial goods.

The port forms part of the local economy by providing a link between the sea and the inland area through its connections to the local transportation networks. The Amaliapoli Port management's focus is on efficient operations in handling vessels and cargo that come in and out. There are vessel traffic control teams, cargo handling teams, and teams ensuring the safety and security of the port area.

Facilities

Berths: The port has a number of berths designed to accommodate different types of vessels. There are berths suitable for small to medium - sized fishing boats and cargo ships. These berths are equipped with basic mooring and docking facilities to ensure the safe arrival and departure of ships. Bollards and fenders are used to protect the vessels and the berths during docking and undocking operations.

Cargo-handling Equipment: There is a range of cargo - handling equipment along the quay. For fishing vessels, facilities to unload fish and other marine products include cranes and conveyor belts. General cargo utilizes forklifts and small cranes to move goods between the ships and storage areas.

Storage Facilities: There are areas for storing various types of cargo. Cold storage and well-ventilated warehouses, for perishable goods such as fish and agricultural produce, which keep the product fresh, and for other general cargo, there are storage sheds and container yards.

Channel and Aids to Navigation: The channel into this port is dredged so as to be adequately deep and wide for vessels of all kinds to pass through comfortably and safely. To help guide ships into the facility and out again, navigation aids include buoys, beacons, and a simplified radar system. Such information given by the radar usually deals with position and movement about nearby vessels.

2. Why should we measure the ocean currents in the Amaliapoli Port?

Importance for Port Operation and Management

The measurement of ocean currents in Amaliapoli Port is indispensable. Firstly, for the safety of vessel navigation. Masters of ships need to know the speed and direction of the currents when approaching berths or navigating through the channel. A cross - current near a berth can make docking more difficult and risky. For instance, if there is a strong current running and a ship is trying to come up to the berth, the captain needs to adjust speed and angle of approach for smooth, safe docking. Precise current measurement helps captains make better decisions to avoid collisions and accidents.

It is also useful for the optimization of the port's operations. Current data helps in better scheduling of ships' arrival and departure. By understanding the tidal currents and other regular flow patterns, the port authorities can allocate the berthing resources better and plan the loading and unloading activities more efficiently. This would lead to increased productivity as it allows for better coordination of cargo - handling operations.

From an environmental point of view, in the case of an accidental spill of any pollutant, including oil and chemicals, ocean current information is of utmost importance. As the nature of the cargo handled in this port already indicates, forecasting the spread of a spill, based on the available data of currents, allows very swift actions of containment and mitigation to minimize environmental damage.

Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers are more efficient in measuring these currents compared to the traditional ways of measurement.

3. How do ADCPs using the Doppler principle work?

Measurement Principle

ADCPs work on the principle of the Doppler effect. When an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) sends an acoustic signal into the water, it scatters off the moving water particles. Since the water particles are in motion due to the ocean current, they shift the frequency of the reflected acoustic signal received back by the ADCP meter. The Doppler effect now states that this frequency shift is related to the velocity of the water flow.

Calculation of Current Speed and Direction

By analyzing the magnitude and direction of this frequency shift, the ADCP current profiler can calculate the speed and direction of the ocean current at different depths in the water column. By emitting signals at multiple angles and different depths, it can create a profile of the ocean current, showing how the current varies with depth.

ADCP Deployment in the Port

Shipborne ADCP

An ADCP current meter can be installed on ships operating in the Amaliapoli Port area. While the ship will be moving around the port, this ADCP current profiler will continuously send acoustic signals in the water underneath. As the ship moves, the area that the ADCP flow meter covers is rather large, and it picks up current data from different places. For example, during a routine survey of the port by a research or inspection ship equipped with a shipborne ADCP, it can gather data on the current patterns across various parts of the port, providing a comprehensive understanding of the water flow situation.

Fixed ADCP

Fixed ADCPs will be placed at certain fixed, specific locations in the terminal, for example, bottom-mounted in the vicinity of critical areas to navigation or inside an entrance/exit of any given terminal. These sets of ADCPs would follow ocean currents continuously at their fixed points for long periods of time. Data obtained is helpful to study regular current patterns that normally prevail in certain areas of the harbor. For example, one bottom-mounted ADCP installed near the entrance can measure the ingoing and outgoing currents to understand the tidal effects and other consistent flow characteristics of that area.

4. What is necessary for high-quality measurement of the currents of Amaliapoli port?

Equipment Requirements

The equipment required to carry out high - quality measurement of the currents in Amaliapoli port needs to have some major characteristics. First of all, it needs material reliability to resist the harsh marine environment. Seawater contains salts and other active chemicals that can destroy, over time, the materials they come in contact with. It also needs to bear the pressure differences that vary with depth and the mechanical forces due to waves and currents.

The second ones would be the size that is small, weight low, and power consumption equally low. Smaller size allows the ease of installation in numerous places within the port area-be it on ships or on fixed structures like piers and seabed. A light weight eases the installation processes besides the transportation. This will ensure that the equipment can operate continuously for long periods without the need for frequent battery replacements or excessive power supply, especially for long-term monitoring applications.

Cost is another important aspect. A lower-cost option enables the port to deploy a larger number of measuring devices for more comprehensive current monitoring across different areas of the port.

The Advantage of Titanium Alloy for ADCP Casing

The casing of ADCPs is preferably made of titanium alloy. The excellent corrosion resistance of the titanium alloy ensures that even after a long period in seawater, the structural integrity and functionality of the metal are maintained. Its high strength-to-weight ratio allows for the construction of a durable yet relatively lightweight casing. For example, in the deeper parts of the Amaliapoli port where higher water pressures are present, an ADCP profiler with a titanium alloy casing can effectively withstand these pressures and continue to provide accurate current measurements.

5. How to Choose the right equipment for current measurement?

Selection Based on Usage

Shipborne ADCP: Where the objective is to carry out wide-area surveys of the port waters while the ship is in operation, shipborne ADCP will be suitable. It can cover different sections of the port as the ship moves around, collecting a large amount of data to provide a comprehensive understanding of the overall current situation in the port. This is helpful in mapping the general patterns of flow and variations across different areas of the port waters.

Sitting - bottom ADCP: This is more suited to fixed-point and long-term monitoring of certain places within the port near important infrastructure or places where the flow pattern is complex. In fact, sitting-bottom ADCPs may record continuously the current data in that fixed position for meaningful analysis of the local current characteristic and its time change.

Buoy-mounted ADCP: Where fixed installations on the seafloor or vessels are inconvenient, buoy-mounted ADCPs may be used. They float on the surface of the water and measure the currents in the upper layers of the water column. Being relatively easy to deploy and to relocate, they can also serve monitoring needs in certain dynamic areas of the port or hard to reach by other means.

Selection Based on Frequency

The choice of frequency for ADCPs depends on the water depth in Amaliapoli port. For areas with a water depth of up to 70 meters, an ADCP with a frequency of 600 kHz is usually a good choice as it can provide accurate current measurements in this relatively shallow depth range. When dealing with deeper waters up to around 110 meters, a 300 kHz frequency ADCP would be more advisable. In very deep sections of the port with water depth reaching up to 1000 meters, an ADCP meter with 75 kHz is recommended for reliable profiling of the ocean currents at such great depth.

There are several well-known ADCP profiler brands in the market, such as Teledyne RDI, Nortek, and Sontek. However, there is also an excellent Chinese ADCP brand-China Sonar PandaADCP. It is made entirely of titanium alloy material, which not only ensures its durability in the marine environment but also offers an excellent cost-performance ratio. For more information, you can visit its official website: (https://china-sonar.com/).

Here is a table with some well known ADCP instrument brands and models.