ADCP's Application to Ocean Current Measurement in the Port of Belfast

1. Where is Belfast port?

Belfast port is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is one of the major ports in the region with a long and rich history in maritime trade and transportation.

Port Scale and Throughput: The development of Belfast port has been continuous over the years. It handles various types of cargoes, such as containers, bulk goods like coal and grain, and industrial products. Its annual throughput shows how important it is in facilitating trade at both the regional and international levels. For example, it is crucial for the import and export of goods that the local manufacturing and consumer sectors depend on.

Route and Business: Well-developed shipping routes from it to many other various ports in Europe and elsewhere in the world. This makes it an essential link between the UK's trade and that of most of its European counterparts. The port operates various business ventures involved in general cargo handling, vehicle transportation, importation and exportation of agricultural goods, among others. Business operations at the port support economic vitality in the surrounding areas and add to the regional economy on a wider scale.

Port Management and Operation: The port is run by a professional team in terms of management and ensuring the smooth running of the day-to-day operation. This involves activities like berthing arrangements for vessels, cargo handling logistics, and maintaining the infrastructures. Strict safety and security protocols ensure the protection of the activities carried out within the port, vessels, and cargo.

Port Facilities: The Belfast facility is a very modern one. It contains several berths, which could handle sizes of ships from the small coaster type vessel to the more ocean-going freighter vessel. Of course, it has house warehouses for storing various types of cargoes. It has similarly advanced cargo handling equipment like cranes and fork-lifts to help in loading and unloading cargo.

Channel and Direct Shipping: The port has a well-maintained channel that allows ships to enter and exit safely. Regular dredging operations are carried out to maintain the required depth for vessels. It has direct shipping connections with many major ports, enabling seamless trade flows and quick transit times for goods.

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

The measurement of ocean currents in Belfast port is very important for its port operations and management. First, it optimizes vessel navigation. Understanding the current patterns enables the port authorities to give better guidance to the ships entering and leaving the port. This can reduce the risk of accidents, especially when ships need to maneuver in narrow channels or during adverse weather conditions. For example, it can affect a ship's ability to come ashore safely if the currents are strong and unpredictable.

Secondly, it is very important in cargo handling efficiency. Currents affect the positioning of vessels at loading and unloading operations. In this respect, accurate information on current enables the port authorities to plan such activities even more efficiently to minimize delays and optimize berthing time.

In addition, the understanding of ocean currents allows for environmental monitoring and protection within the port area to be effective. This could help in predictions of pollutant dispersion or any possible effects on marine ecosystems because of changes in water flow.

In the last couple of years, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) is considered a more modern and convenient means to measure ocean currents than all other traditional methods. Real-time and highly accurate data collection allows the port operator to make timely decisions based on the current conditions.

3. How Do Doppler Principle-based ADCPs Work?

An ADCP current meter operates using the principle of Doppler. It sends out acoustic signals into the water. Where these acoustic waves run into moving particles of water-soil or any other particles, including those minute organisms suspended in the water-the frequency of the reflected waves gets changed by the Doppler effect. Thus, their velocity may be calculated based on the change in frequency of the signal reflected back and hence find the velocity of an ocean current.

Shipborne ADCP

During shipborne ADCP operations, the instrument is usually installed on board a vessel. As this vessel navigates along a predetermined course across the port area, the ADCP current profiler sends continuous acoustic signals downwards and sideways through the water. It acquires the data in different layers in depth, resulting in an ocean current velocity profile across its track. It offers an opportunity to have a comprehensive idea about the conditions prevailing over a fairly substantial area covered by the ship's movements.

Fixed ADCPs

Fixed ADCPs are installed at fixed points in the port, for instance on piers or submerged structures. They give continuous, long-term readings of ocean currents at the point in question. Data obtained from fixed units offer a history of current patterns at important spots in the port over extended periods and can be of interest to analyze trends and develop strategic planning for port operations.

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

In measuring ocean currents in Belfast port, high-quality measurement would require a number of aspects that relate to the equipment itself. First, the materials of the equipment have to be highly reliable. In the marine environment, which is very harsh due to the corrosion by seawater and possible physical impacts, the equipment should withstand these influences over long periods.

The second is to be small in size, light in weight, and of low power consumption. A device with a smaller size and low weight is easy to install either on a ship or at a fixed location underwater. Low power consumption also means the equipment can work continuously for a long time without changing batteries frequently or occupying too much energy. A lower cost is preferable to enable the deployment of large numbers of current measurement devices in various areas of the port.

The ADCP flow meter casing is made of titanium alloy. Titanium alloy has several remarkable advantages, such as excellent corrosion resistance in seawater, essential to maintain the integrity and functionality of the equipment in the marine environment; it has a high strength-to-weight ratio, meaning it is able to resist external forces while keeping the overall weight of the device relatively low. Furthermore, the material is also biocompatible, which could come in handy in cases where an interaction with the marine ecosystem occurs and minimize its potentially negative impact on the surroundings.

5. Selection of Equipment for Measurement

The choice of proper equipment for current measurement for Belfast port depends upon specific scenarios where measurement is to be applied:.

Shipborne ADCP: This system is applicable when the need exists to gain current data over a larger area as the ship is moving in the vicinity of the port. It will be able to cover the different sections of the waterways inside the port and give an overall view of the existing current conditions in the various locations during one voyage.

Bottom-mounted (Sitting on the seabed) ADCP: Most suitable for long-term measurement programs at fixed points. This sensor would stay at the bottom of the port, monitoring continuously the current velocities over time and the repeating characteristics of currents. In turn, this will help establish the stable and recurring features in key areas of the current field.

Buoy-mounted ADCP: For those cases when monitoring of currents in some relatively open water area within the port is required, or installation of fixed devices on the seabed or on ships is not convenient. A buoy can float on the water surface while the ADCP meter attached to it measures currents at different depths below.

In terms of frequency selection, different frequencies suit different water depths. For example, a 600 kHz ADCP would be appropriate in water depth within 70 meters, while a 300 kHz ADCP would serve better for water depths up to 110 meters and a 75 kHz for much deeper waters with its ability for current measurement in water depths of up to 1000 meters.

There are several famous brands of ADCPs in the market, including Teledyne RDI, Nortek, and Sontek. However, there is an excellent Chinese ADCP brand called China Sonar PandaADCP. It is totally made of titanium alloy material, which not only guarantees its durability and performance in marine conditions but also offers an amazing cost-performance ratio. You can learn more about it on its official website: (https://china-sonar.com/).

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