Along-beam bin center separation

For ADCPs, the [math]\displaystyle{ Z }[/math]-axis in instrument coordinates is commonly defined along the axis of the ADCP pressure case. The velocity data are commonly given in terms of this [math]\displaystyle{ Z }[/math]-coordinate. For a vertical beam, the along beam bin center separation ([math]\displaystyle{ r_0 }[/math]) is given by:

[math]\displaystyle{ r_0 = \delta z }[/math]

where [math]\displaystyle{ \delta z }[/math] is the distance between bin-centers along the [math]\displaystyle{ Z }[/math]-axis.

For diverging beams, the along beam bin center separation ([math]\displaystyle{ r_0 }[/math]) is given by:

[math]\displaystyle{ r_0 = \frac{\delta z}{\cos\theta} }[/math]

where [math]\displaystyle{ \theta }[/math] is the angle of the diverging beams with the [math]\displaystyle{ Z }[/math]-axis.

Schematic of ADCP and its beams, showing the difference between the vertical co-ordinate [math]\displaystyle{ z }[/math] and the along-beam radial distances [math]\displaystyle{ r }[/math]

Go back to [[Processing your ADCP data using structure function techniques | Compute structure functions and dissipation estimates]