Near-Shore Doppler Current Meter Wave Spectra

Abstract

We compare PUV wave observations from two collocated velocity/pressure sensors (Aquadopp Current Profiler and Vector Velocimeter). Our objective was to use the differences in the two sensors to evaluate their performance. We evaluate limitations and uncertainties in the wave measurements, focusing particularly on the high frequency cutoff and uncertainties in direction and spreading. We model direction and spreading uncertainties with a simple Monte Carlo simulation, which compares well with our wave data. We conclude that either instrument is able to observe wave spectra and wave height with an uncertainty of a few percent and with wave direction uncertainties of a few degrees.