ADCP's Use in the Measuring of Ocean Current in Paranaguá Port

1. Where is Paranaguá Port?

Paranaguá Port is in Paraná, a southern Brazilian state, one of Brazil and South America's most important ports.

Port Scale and Throughput: The port complex has a large size with many berths. The port handled a high annual throughput, with considerable cargo for containers and bulk like grains, minerals, and a great deal of liquid cargo too. It is an important route for Brazil in international trade.

Shipping Routes and Services: It has extensive shipping routes connecting to various parts of the world. There are regular liner services to Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The port offers a wide range of services including cargo handling, storage, transshipment, and logistics support.

Port Management and Operations: The port is operated professionally by port authorities and managed very efficiently with modern management systems. It has the largest number of qualified staff and the latest technology applied in container handling and cargo tracking.

Port Facilities: It is equipped with modern cranes, conveyor belts, and storage facilities. There are specialized terminals for different types of cargo, such as container terminals, bulk cargo terminals, and liquid cargo terminals.

Waterways and Direct Navigation: The port has well-developed waterways, and the Paranaguá Channel provides good access for ships. It allows direct navigation for large vessels, which facilitates smooth cargo transportation.

2. Por qué debemos medir las corrientes oceánicas en el Puerto de Paranaguá?

The measurement of ocean currents at Paranaguá Port is very important for the following reasons:

• Safety of Navigation: Knowledge of ocean currents enables ships to be safely routed. It allows the captains to predict the effect of currents on course and speed of the ship to avoid collisions and grounding.
• Cargo Handling Efficiency: Knowing ocean currents can help optimize crane and other cargo-handling equipment usage. Thus, it can help in planning how best to load and unload cargo at any given time, greatly enhancing overall efficiency.
• Port Planning and Development: Ocean currents data plays an important role in port expansion planning. It makes provision for better designing of berths, breakwaters, and all other ports installations which may have resisted those forces.
• Environmental protection: Ocean current supply vital information relevant to the distribution of pollutants over the ocean basin as a means of safeguarding the marine environment. Such measures keep away oil spills, among others from gaining ground.

In contrast to the previous techniques, ADCP current meter is a more sophisticated and convenient method of measurement since it is able to give more detailed current data in a more precise manner in less time.

3. Principles of operation of the Doppler principle applied in ADCPs

ADCPs work on the Doppler principle. Once the acoustic signal emitted by the ADCP current profiler hits moving particles in water, the frequency of the reflected signal is affected by the velocity of particles in water. Calculating this shift in frequency, the ADCP calculates the velocity of water currents.

• Shipborne ADCP: For shipborne ADCP, it is installed at the bottom of a ship. As a ship moves along through the water, it makes the ADCP emit acoustic beams downwards and measure the Doppler shift of the reflected signals from the various layers of water below. Such will give a current velocity profile at different depths along the path that the ship is traveling.
• Fixed ADCP: These are mounted to the seabed or onto structures like buoys and piers. It observes ocean currents at one place. It emits acoustic beams in different directions, and measuring Doppler shifts allows determining current velocities and directions in the surrounding water.

4. Which conditions are required for precise measurement of Paranaguá port currents?

For quality measurements of currents at Paranaguá Port, the following characteristics are wished for in the measuring equipment:

• Material Reliability: The equipment should be made of reliable materials to withstand the harsh marine environment. The casing of ADCP flow meter should be made of titanium alloy. This material has good corrosion resistance. In other words, it can resist the corrosive effects of seawater and can protect the inner components of ADCP. Besides, it also has high strength that would make the durability of the equipment strong enough against currents and rough seas.
• Small Size and Light Weight: A small size and light weight make it easy to install and operate. It can be easily integrated into different measurement platforms such as ships, buoys, or seabed mounts without causing any excessive load or affecting the stability of the platform.
• Low Power Consumption: Low power consumption is very important, especially for fixed or autonomous measurement systems. It enables the ADCP meter to work for a long time without frequent battery replacement or recharging, reducing maintenance costs and increasing the reliability of continuous measurement.
• Low Cost: A relatively low cost makes it possible to deploy a large number of ADCPs for comprehensive measurement in the port area. This is beneficial for obtaining more detailed and accurate current data across the entire port.

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

Determined by Usage

• Shipborne ADCP: Suitable for large-scale ocean currents to be surveyed within the port and its surroundings. It is best applied when ship voyages demand a fast need for data coverage of currents across a wide range.
• Bottom-mounted ADCP: This is the ideal ADCP profiler to be used in long-term fixed point monitoring of ocean currents at fixed locations within a port such as near berths or channels with continuous data needed.
• Buoy-mounted ADCP: It is excellent for measuring currents in areas where it is not possible to mount fixed equipment or where mobile measurement is required. Buoy-mounted ADCPs can offer real-time data and can easily be moved from one location to another.

Determines by Frequency

• 600kHz: This frequency is used for current measurements in water depths of less than 70m. It finds its application in shallow water areas of the port, for example, along shores or inner harbors.
• 300kHz: The water depth appropriate for the 300kHz frequency ranges from 110m. This might be applicable along deeper parts of the port channels and other places within modest water depth.
• 75kHz: This frequency is applied for up to 1000m in depth. It is applied for current measurement in the outer areas of the port or deep sea approaches.

Some of the best known brands in the market include Teledyne RDI, Nortek, and Sontek. Another is a relatively inexpensive Chinese ADCP brand called China Sonar PandaADCP. It is made of all-titanium alloy and has incredible cost performance. You can visit their website at https://china-sonar.com/ for more information.

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