ADCP's Application to Ocean Current Measurement in New York Port

1. Where is New York Port?

The New York Port, more correctly known as the Port of New York and New Jersey, is on the East Coast of the United States. It extends across the estuary where the Hudson River meets the Atlantic Ocean and covers areas in both New York City and northeastern New Jersey.

Port Scale and Throughput

This port is the largest and busiest in the United States. The port complex has an extensive network of terminals with a vast quay length that can accommodate a large number of vessels at any one time. The annual throughput is substantial, handling a wide range of cargo: containers, with millions of TEUs being processed every year; bulk goods like petroleum products, grains, and construction materials in large amounts. It is also an important center for break bulk cargo, including automobiles and machinery.

Its strategic location makes it a very important entry gateway for international trade, as it connects the United States to various other markets throughout the world. It is one of the major points of entry and exit of merchandise into and out of the US Northeast and the huge American hinterland it is connected to by a regionally extensive system of railways, highways, and inland waterways.

Routes and Business

The port is linked to different international shipping routes. It has regular links with Europe, Asia, South America, and other parts of the world. Major shipping lines have large activities here, making it a key stop in global shipping lanes. Business activities at the port range from shipping and freight forwarding to logistics and terminal operations.

It is essential in the importation and exportation in the area of consumer goods, electronics, and agricultural products. The port has a highly developed cruise ship business wherein most of the luxury cruise lines utilize it for embarking and their arrival point for attracting tourists worldwide to visit the city and its environs.

Management and Operation of the Port

The port is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a bi-state agency that handles infrastructure development, maintenance, and general operations of the port. It liaises with terminal operators, shipping companies, and customs to ensure that port operations are smooth and efficient.

Operationally, the port involves quite a number of tasks and procedures that entail complex processes of vessel traffic management, cargo handling, and customs clearance. Advanced technologies are used to monitor vessel movement in real time, track cargo, and optimize the flow of goods through the port.

Facilities at the Port

The port is equipped with modern and state-of-the-art facilities. Container terminals are outfitted with high-capacity cranes that can handle the largest container ships. There are specialized terminals for different types of cargo, such as petroleum terminals with storage tanks and loading facilities, and auto - handling terminals with vehicle storage and processing areas.

The port also offers a variety of supporting services, such as warehousing, container repair facilities, and ship maintenance facilities. For cruise ships, there are dedicated terminals with passenger-friendly amenities such as waiting lounges, immigration facilities, and transport connections.

Channels and Direct Navigation

The port has well-maintained, dredged channels to handle vessels with large drafts. Major shipping channels, such as the Ambrose Channel, allow for direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. This gives unimpeded access to the port and makes navigation easy for container ships, tankers, and cruise liners both into and out of the port. Its location further provides it with easy access to other major East Coast ports, adding more to its regional and international standing as a shipping center.

2. Why should we measure the ocean currents in the New York port?

Navigation Safety

In New York Port, correct knowledge of currents is highly essential for the safety of ships. The complicated current pattern develops because of the estuarine environment and the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. The tidal currents may be strong and will affect a vessel's course to do with its speed. Measurement of currents could allow masters of vessels to plan their voyages more efficiently, especially in entry and exit in the port.

Currents affect the maneuverability of a ship, especially in critical operations such as berthing and un-berthing. In a busy port with high vessel traffic including large container ships, tankers, and cruise liners, proper current conditions knowledge is paramount to avoid collisions and other forms of navigational accidents.

Port Operations and Efficiency

Current pattern awareness can help in the smooth operation of the port. The flow of currents can influence the docking and undocking of ships. If the current is not properly accounted for, it will lead to difficulties with the alignment of the ship with the berth, thus piling up work for cargo handling.

The currents will also affect the tugs and other support vessels in movement within the area of the port. By measuring the currents in this respect, the port authorities are able to further optimize the timing of these activities and hence improve overall productivity of the facilities. Among the various other techniques of current measurements, ADCPs offer a more advanced and convenient method against traditional techniques of measurement while availing real data which can be useful for better decision-making in the operations of ports.

3. How does an ADCP employing the Doppler principle work?

ADCPs work on the basis of the Doppler principle. They send acoustic pulses down through the water column. When those pulses encounter and bounce off of particles or other objects in the water that are moving with the current, the frequency of the reflected sound waves changes.

Ship-borne ADCP

The ship-borne ADCP is usually installed on the hull of a vessel. The ADCP measures the current's relative velocity with respect to the ship's motion during its movement through the water. It keeps recording the shifted frequencies of the reflected acoustic signals in a continuous manner. Through advanced signal-processing algorithms, the relative velocity of the current is calculated. By adding the ship's own velocity-the latter obtained from other navigation systems-one obtains the absolute current velocity in the area. This way, in real time, information about the current is gathered when the ship travels through various parts of the port and adjacent waters.

Fixed ADCP

Fixed ADCPs are mounted on dedicated positions within the port-for example, on the seabed or on a pier. These ADCPs continuously emit acoustic pulses into the water and measure the frequency shift of the reflected signals. They provide a stationary view of the current velocity at a particular point. This is useful for long-term monitoring of current patterns, such as how the currents vary with tidal cycles, seasonal changes, or due to changes in weather conditions.

4. What is required for high-quality measurement of New York port currents?

Equipment Characteristics

The devices used for this high-quality current measurement should have reliable material to be appropriate for New York Port. It will be exposed in the marine environment and should bear up against salinity, the impacts of garbage, and vessel traffic. It will be an advantage if its size is more compact and lightweight; it will allow for easier installation and access, especially where space is an issue on ships or even buoys.

The ADCP current meter should, above all, consume low power since there are cases in which an ADCP is deployed for a very long time and thus access to the power source is limited. Another important aspect of the equipment is that it must be cost-effective to allow more deployments across the port to conduct effective current measurements.

Titanium Alloy Casing Advantage

An ADCP current profiler shall have its casing made from Titanium alloy. It has excellent corrosion-resistance properties, important in the harsh marine environment of New York Port. The high salinity of the seawater, possibly with the exposure to pollutants and other corrosive agents, could very well rapidly destroy equipment made of less-resistant materials. The strength and durability of the titanium alloy is also sufficient for withstanding water pressure and possible mechanical impacts from passing vessels or other underwater debris.

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

Based on Installation Type

• Ship-borne ADCP: This type of ADCP flow meter can be used when the vessel needs to measure currents during their transit in and around the port area. It provides a mobile way of obtaining current data, which is useful for ships in motion, such as container ships, tankers, and cruise liners. The shipborne ADCP will be able to deliver real-time information on current conditions one would find along a ship's route and thus help the crew make proper navigational decisions.
• Sitting-bottom ADCP: It is used for the fixed-point monitoring of the current in one place, such as at the entrance to a channel or in the vicinity of a berth. With this setup, a stationary and uninterrupted measurement of the flow at that very point can be obtained. It proves very valuable under conditions of long-term local flow to carry out certain operations, such as the optimization of berthing operations, taking into account the flow conditions of the place in question.
• Buoy-type ADCP: These can be deployed in places where a floating platform is more suitable, like open water areas within the port or where boundaries are less defined. The buoy-type ADCPs monitor larger areas and are quite useful in providing a general view of the current patterns across the entire port area. They can also be used to detect variations in current patterns over large areas, which may be affected by factors related to weather events or changes in the infrastructure at a port.

Frequency-Based

• A 600kHz ADCP is often a good choice for water depths up to 70m. The higher frequency gives better resolution for shallower water current measurements, enabling higher resolution of the current velocity profiles near the surface. This could be helpful in areas near the shore, in channels of relatively shallow depth, or where the current may vary a lot with depth.
• The 300kHz ADCP would be more suited for about 110m depths. In general, it's a balance between depth penetration and resolution and is therefore suitable for medium-depth water measurements. This could be applied to an area where the port has a more uniform depth or where a broader understanding of the current from the surface to a moderate depth is required.
• In waters as deep as 1000m, the 75kHz ADCP must be used; the lower the frequency, the deeper it goes in the water column and allows for the measurement of currents deeper beneath the sea, which is useful for an area in the port that contains a deeper channel or the outer parts where the water gets considerably deeper.

There are well-known ADCP brands such as Teledyne RDI, Nortek, and Sontek. However, the Chinese brand China Sonar PandaADCP is also a great option. It is made of all-titanium alloy material, providing excellent durability and corrosion resistance. It also offers an incredible cost-performance ratio. You can find more information about it on their website: (https://china-sonar.com/).

Here is a table with some well known Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler(ADCP)  instrument brands and models.