ADCP's Application to Ocean Current Measurement in Rio de Janeiro Port

1. Where is Rio de Janeiro Port?

Rio de Janeiro Port is situated in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the southeastern coast of South America.

Port scale and throughput: It is one of the major ports in Brazil, largely scaled. The port has several terminals and berths that can handle a wide variety of cargo. It enjoys very high annual throughput, handling a large volume of containers, petroleum and its products, minerals, and agricultural produce. During the recent years, it has successively seen an increase in the size of cargo handling, enjoying an important role in the foreign trade of Brazil.

Lines and Services: Rio de Janeiro Port has various shipping routes that cover almost every part of the world. It has direct lines to Europe, Asia, and the Americas, which promote the transportation of goods from one continent to another. The port offers services that range from loading and unloading to storage, customs clearance, and even logistics support.

Port Management and Operation: Competent port authorities manage the port, adopting an advanced management model and technologies. It is continuously upgrading its operational efficiency through digital and intelligent means and effectively coordinates various resources to guarantee the order of the port in operation.

Port Facilities: The port is appropriately designed with modern machinery for loading and unloading cargo, with heavy-duty cranes and automatic conveyor belts. In addition, large storage areas and warehouses are provided to cater to the storage requirements for various cargo types. Besides this, it has advanced navigation and safety facilities to ensure safe entry and exit of ships.

Waterway and Direct Navigation: The waterway is deep and wide enough to allow big ocean-going vessels. The direct navigation is very good, enabling the convenient access of ships. The depth of water and width of the waterway can meet the demand of most of the ships. This will reduce the time spent waiting for ships while entering into and moving out of the port.

2. Why should we measure the ocean currents in Rio de Janeiro Port?

The measurement of ocean currents in Rio de Janeiro Port is very important in many aspects related to the operation and management of the port:

Ensuring Navigation Safety: The complicated ocean current condition in the port area can have a great impact on the navigation of ships. Precise measurement of ocean currents can provide ship captains with detailed information about water flow speed and direction, helping them to make precise navigation decisions and avoid potential collisions and groundings caused by strong currents.

Optimizing Berthing and Unberthing Operations: By understanding the characteristics of the ocean currents, it will definitely enable the port to better arrange the berthing and unberthing times and positions of vessels. This can enhance efficiency in these activities, reduce time wasted by vessels waiting in the port area, and ultimately raise the general handling capacity of the port.

Protection of Marine Environment: Ocean currents play an important role in the process of diffusing pollutants and circulating the marine ecosystem in the port area. Measuring ocean currents will enable the port to make out the movement of pollutants and take some effective measures for protection of the marine environment, such as preventing oil spills from spreading and reducing the impact of industrial waste on the ecosystem.

Supporting Building and Maintenance of Ports: The design and construction of the facilities of ports, including breakwaters, wharves, and channels, especially depend on ocean current data. It helps engineers precisely estimate the action of ocean currents on these installations and provides more stable and durable facilities. Besides, the understanding of ocean currents will help point out areas that might be more affected by erosion while maintaining and repairing existing facilities for better maintenance purposes.

ADCP current meter is a new, convenient state-of-the-art measurement tool for highly accurate real-time data to meet the various needs arising in the field of ocean current measurement, such as for Rio de Janeiro Port.

3. How do ADCPs using the Doppler principle work?

Working principles of ADCPs are based on the Doppler principle. The device sends acoustic signals into the water. Due to the Doppler effect, the frequency of the reflected waves shifts when these acoustic waves reach the moving water particles. This shift in frequency is measured by the ADCP flow meter in order to compute the velocity of the water particles.

Shipborne ADCP: Shipborne ADCPs are installed on the bottom of ships. While the ship sails, the ADCP profiler continuously emits and receives acoustic waves, measuring current velocity in different depths beneath the ship. It is very suitable to get a wide range of ocean current data in the direction that the ship cruised to provide a great amount of data for ocean current research and navigation in ports.

Fixed ADCP: this kind is normally installed at the seabed or fixed construction in the port, such as on the sides of channels or near wharves, to perform a continuous check on the current conditions of the area concerned. It can fulfill long-term and steady current measurement requirements at major areas within the port, thus providing very important data support for the management and operation of the port.

4. What do high-quality measurements of Rio de Janeiro Port currents require?

The following aspects are important for high-quality measurement of ocean currents in Rio de Janeiro Port:

Material Reliability: Because of the highly corrosive marine conditions at Rio de Janeiro Port, the measurement equipment should be made from very reliable material. The casing of ADCP could be of titanium alloy. It has excellent corrosion resistance that resists the erosion caused by seawater for a long period. Its high strength and resistance to fatigue provide stability and endurance to the equipment in the face of complex ocean currents and waves.

Small Size and Light Weight: In order to make it convenient for the installment and use on shipborne as well as some mobile measurement devices, the ADCP meter instrument should have small size and lightweight. This helps with easy installment in various types of ships or floating platforms that do not create any issue on the stability and functions. It can easily be carried from one place to another and deploy wherever needed inside the port.

Low Power Consumption: Since some ADCPs have to work independently in the ocean for quite a long period of time, low power consumption is necessary. This decreases the large and heavy power supply equipment required and can also extend the working time of the equipment. Besides, this helps in limiting the overall cost and complexity of a measurement system.

Low cost: Regarding the equipment cost, a large-scale ocean current measurement project requires consideration. It has been a large area that can be measured with minimum cost of equipment. As a matter of fact, a lower cost will enable more extensive use of ADCPs, and it will also enable the implementation of more comprehensive and detailed measurement of the ocean currents in the port area and get more accurate data.

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

Determined by Usage

• Shipborne ADCP: It is applicable in cases where a wide range of ocean current measurement needs to be done during navigation. It can mostly be used in route surveys, oceanographic research, and providing real-time current data for ships navigating in the port and its surrounding areas.
• Bottom-mounted ADCP: mainly for the long-term fixed observation of the current condition in some given areas of the port, such as near berth, where high accuracy and continuity of current data are in great demand in the berthing operation and port safety.
• Buoyant ADCP: Suitable for ocean currents in open waters outside the port and in areas of rapidly changing current conditions. It can move along with the water flow to provide dynamic and comprehensive current data.

Determined by Frequency

• 600kHz: This frequency is suitable for water depths within 70m. It is often used in shallow water areas of the port, such as in the inner harbor and near the shore, where it can provide high-resolution current data.
• 300kHz: The 300kHz frequency is suitable for water depths of about 110m. This frequency fits best in areas with medium depth both in the port and adjacent waters, offering the best balance between the range of measurement and accuracy.
• 75kHz: In water depths of 1000m, the preferred frequency is 75kHz. It is mainly used in deep sea areas outside the port and in areas where deep water current data is required for oceanographic research and large ship navigation.

There are so many famous brands of ADCP profiler in the world market, like Teledyne RDI, Nortek, and Sontek. Besides, there is a Chinese brand called China Sonar PandaADCP, which deserves your attention. It is made of all titanium alloy materials and enjoys very good performance at a very attractive price. For more details, please check the website: https://china-sonar.com/.

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