Current meter data quality

A session on current meter data quality was convened at the ICES Statutory Meeting held in Bergen, Norway, in October 1988, succeeding previous similar sessions on CTD data quality in 1985 and 1987. This forms part of a continuing drive by the Hydrography Committee of ICES to disseminate information and to promote the exchange of ideas on data processing procedures and techniques with, in this case, additional objectives concerning the assessment of current meter data quality (for instance when banking data) and the improvement of the quality and the improvement of the quality of future measurements. The seven papers presented to the session fall broadly into two categories although there is some overlap - firstly those predominantly on the data processing procedures followed at various laboratories and secondly those on current meter intercomparisons (one of the few relatively objective methods of obtaining an indication of current meter data quality). Four papers are in the first category on experiment design and data processing strategy, by Howarth; two on laboratory data processing procedures, for the Fisheries Research Laboratory, Lowestoft, by Medler and for the Scottish Marine Biological Association, Ohan, by Griffiths & MacDougall; and finally on data banking, important for preserving the value of the data, by Rickards. Three papers are in the second category and cover intercomparisons of a wide variety of instruments from Aanderaa type to vector averaging current meters (Read et al. and Smith & Lawrence, including HF radar) to acoustic doppler current profilers (Østerhus & Golmen).

Contents:

• Current meter data processing: M.J. Howarth.
  Procedures for processing current meter records at Lowestoft: K. J. Medler. 
• Current meter use and analysis at SMBA, Oban: C.R. Griffiths and N. Macdougall 
• The UK National Oceanographic Data Centre - current meter data quality control and banking: L.J. Rickards.
• Intercomparisons of Valeport BFM208, Aanderaa RCM4S and Plessey M021F current meters in the Irish Sea: J.W. Read, K.J. Medler and S.R. Jones.
• An intercomparison of near-surface current measurements off southwest Nova Scotia, by Peter C. Smith and Donald J. Lawrence 
• Comparison of ADCP data against moored current meter data and calculated geostrophic currents: S. Østerhus and Lars G. Golmen