ADCP's Application to Ocean Current Measurement in Port of Texas City

1. Location of Port of Texas City

Port of Texas City is located at Texas City, Texas, United States.

Port Scale and Throughput

It is one of the important ports along the Gulf Coast. Its scale is very big, playing a great role in trading all kinds of goods such as petroleum products, chemicals, bulk commodities, etc. The trend for this port's throughput growth has always gone up over the years, and now it receives several million tons cargo every year; that makes it one of the very important nodes of transportation both in national and international trades.

Routes and Business

It is connected to numerous major shipping routes in the Gulf of Mexico and has extensive business cooperation with ports around the world. It mainly deals with the import and export of energy resources, industrial raw materials, and manufactured goods. For example, it is a key port for the shipment of refined oil products from the local refineries to different destinations across the globe.

Port Management and Operation

The port is managed by professional port authorities who ensure that the various facilities function smoothly, with the coordination of ship berthing, cargo handling, and maintenance of all safety and security standards. They work in close collaboration with shipping companies, terminal operators, and relevant regulatory agencies to optimize port efficiency.

Port Facilities

The port has several deep-water berths that can handle big vessels. There are modern container terminals, bulk cargo handling areas, and storage facilities. It also has advanced loading and unloading equipment to assure the speed and efficiency of shifting cargo between ships to land transport.

Channels and Direct Routes

The port has well-maintained channels with appropriate depths to allow ships to enter and exit safely. It has direct routes to many major ports in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, thereby facilitating the smooth flow of trade.

2. Why should we measure the ocean currents in the Port of Texas City?

Precise measurement of ocean currents in the Port of Texas City is highly important for its port operation and management. It first optimizes ship navigation. Knowledge of the current speed and direction allows the ship captains to plan their routes more precisely, reducing fuel consumption and voyage time. For example, by avoiding areas with strong adverse currents, ships can sail more efficiently.

Second, it's very much about the safety of port operations: knowledge of currents helps to foresee the movement of possible floating objects or other perils in water. This may assist in preventing collisions between vessels and such floating or submerged objects. It also assists in the moored positioning of vessels to remain steady and stable in their positioned site.

In addition, ocean current information becomes indispensable in the design and maintenance of facilities related to port infrastructures, such as docks and breakwaters. Currents may, for instance, have an influence on erosion and deposition around such structures. On the other hand, correct measurement will steer the implementation of protection measures or maintenance activities in appropriate ways.

In recent years, ADCPs have been a more advanced and convenient way of measuring ocean currents compared to the traditional methods. They can provide real-time and continuous data covering a wide range of depths and areas, which is highly valuable for comprehensive understanding of the current situation in the port area.

3. How do the ADCPs using the Doppler principle work?

The ADCPs basically work on the principle of Doppler. They send acoustic signals into the water. Where these acoustic waves meet the moving particles in water, due to the Doppler effect, there is a shift in the frequency of the reflected waves. Through the analysis of emitted and received frequency differences, one can calculate the velocity of the moving particles and hence the velocity of the water current.

Shipborne ADCP

Here, the ADCP current meter is installed on a ship. During any movement of the ship along a certain route in the area of the port, the ADCP continuously sends acoustic signals downwards and around. It measures ocean currents at different depths below the position of the ship, gathering data points along the track of the ship. This will give a detailed picture of current distribution within the area covered by the movement of the ship.

Fixed ADCP

The fixed ADCPs are generally installed on structures such as piers, buoys, or even the seabed. While in position, they monitor constantly the currents that pass through it. This can provide long-term stable data for the specific location at a port and therefore be used in observing temporal and spatial variation of the current at that very point.

4. What does high-quality measurement of currents in the Port of Texas City require?

High-quality measurement of currents in the Port of Texas City can be performed by considering various aspects of equipment. First and foremost, the material reliability of the equipment should be highlighted. The equipment should resist the harsh conditions of the marine environment: the corrosion of sea water, the high pressure at different depths, and the waves and tides that hit it.

The preferred size and weight are minimal, with minimum power consumption. While a small size can be installed in several places, on ships, and fixed structures with ease, light weight adds advantages in the handling and mounting of equipment. Low power consumption means it is able to operate for a very long period of time without exchanging batteries or extremely high power consumption, which is important for longtime monitoring.

It is also important that the cost be reasonable to enable large-scale measurement in the port area for a better understanding of the prevailing conditions by deploying as many devices as possible.

The outer casing of ADCP profiler is preferably made of titanium alloy. There are several outstanding advantages of using titanium alloy. It has excellent corrosion resistance, which can effectively resist the corrosive effect of seawater, ensuring the long-term service life of the equipment. Besides, it has a high strength-to-weight ratio, which means that it can provide enough structural strength with relatively low weight. In addition, titanium alloy has good thermal stability and biocompatibility, making it an ideal material to be used in the marine environment.

5. How to Select appropriate Equipment for current measurement?

When selecting the proper equipment to measure currents within the Port of Texas City, each depends upon usage scenarios.

By Usage Purpose

• Shipborne ADCP: In the case where one wants to have current data from a ship operating in, for instance, normal port patrols or in doing specific surveys with a ship for ship navigation purposes. Shipborne ADCP will work just fine and may be able to cover a fair amount of area across the path in which the ship is traveling.
• Bottom-mounted ADCP: In applications where long-term fixed-point monitoring of the currents near the seabed or in certain areas close to port infrastructures like docks is required, bottom-mounted ADCPs come in quite handy. They can provide stable and continuous data for understanding the current conditions at those fixed locations.
• Buoy-mounted ADCP: In cases when monitoring in open water areas inside the port or when fixed devices on the seabed are not suitable to install, buoy-mounted ADCPs can be applied. They could move with waves to a limited extent while performing continuous measurements of the currents around them.

Based on Frequency Selection

Different frequencies of ADCPs are suited to different water depths. For example, a 600 kHz ADCP is suitable for water depths within 70 meters. It can provide relatively high-resolution data in shallower areas. A 300 kHz ADCP is appropriate for water depths up to 110 meters, offering a good balance between measurement range and resolution. The 75 kHz ADCP was fitted for applications in much deeper water, typically up to 1000 meters; thus, a quite good current situation could be realized in the deeper parts of the port area or even the adjacent waters.

There are some well-known brands in the market, such as Teledyne RDI, Nortek, and Sontek. However, there is also a remarkable Chinese ADCP brand called China Sonar PandaADCP. It is made of all-titanium alloy material, which combines excellent performance with an incredible cost-performance ratio. You can get more about it on its official website: https://china-sonar.com/.

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