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 The 6000m Aquadopp is "the big brother" in the line of Aquadopp models. The all-titanium mechanical housing is built to last at great ocean depths. The overall design is the results of a testing and verification process that has included many of the world's largest oceanographic institutions.
Rugged and resistant, the 6000m model still retains all the capabilities of the standard Aquadopp.
Relative to the standard system, it has a larger diameter (about 84mm vs. 75mm) and built from Titanium grade 2. As a result, the instrument is heavier than the standard instrument, but at 10kg, it is still possible to handle one or two units without any lifting equipment.
The transducer sensor head is made from machined Delrin® materials and the orientation of the beams is the same as in the standard "mooring head" configuration.
In the deep ocean, there are fewer particles than in the upper 500 m of the water column. While the decay in signal strength is small from about 1000 m down to full ocean depth, tests show significant variations across the globe. Mid-water deployments represent a real challenge for instruments that depend on acoustic backscatter and considerable work has been done to understand the factors that affect the acoustic signal strength and to improve the magnitude of the returned the echo. This work is reflected in the design of the current electronics and 6000m transducer design.
The most common application for the 6000m Aquadopp is deep-water moorings, where one or more instruments are mounted on a cable that stretches from the bottom to a subsurface float. The instruments can either be clamped directly to the cable or a fin can be used to make sure the instrument is always oriented into the flow. Other applications include bottom frames, where the Aquadopp can be used to measure the currents below, above or to the side of the bottom frames.
Unique features
| The 6000m Aquadopp has several unique features that makes it the instrument of choice for deep water moorings: |
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- The Aquadopp records all relevant parameters to the internal recorder, including acoustic signal strength, tilt, compass, battery voltage, and status/error code.
- The sampling strategy is very flexible. The measurement interval, the averaging interval and the exact pinging rate can all be set independently in the deployment planning menu included as part of the standard software.
- The compass includes a hard iron calibration routine that makes it possible to remove the effects of the cable and the mounting clamps on the compass measurements.
- Using the diagnostic mode, the detailed mooring motion (heave, rotation, tilt) can be measured and understood.
- The acoustic signal strength is recorded in order to provide a direct measure of the acoustic conditions.
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Key Features |
| Detailed specifications are provided in the PDF brochure. |
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| Recorder Parameters (standard): |
- 3D Velocity (East/North Up or X/Y/Z or Beam 1/2/3)
- Acoustic signal strength (Beam 1/2/3)
- Compass
- Tilt
- Temperature
- Pressure
- Battery voltage
- Status code
- Error code
In diagnostic mode, all the above parameters are recorded. |
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| Power: |
- Internal battery or external DC source. AC/DC converter comes standard with the Aquadopp
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External Interface:
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- Two analog input channels (0–5V) can be powered and read by the Aquadopp and integrated into the standard data structure
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| Data communication: |
- I/O: RS232 or RS422 at baud rates of 300 to 115200. Binary and ASCII. The software supports most commercially available USB–RS232 converters
- Analog outputs: (3 velocity components)
- User control: Handled via WIN32 software or ActiveX components
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| Data Recording: |
- 9 MB on the mother board, expansion cards available
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| Mechanical: |
- Titanium grade 2 housing, Delrin transducer housing
- Weight in air is about 8kg, in water approximately 4.8kg
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| Options: |
- Increased recorder size
- Internal wiring harness for different communication protocols
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