Ocean Waves

Surface waves are formed by winds either locally as "wind waves" with shorter periods, or further away as “swell" with longer periods. A rare case of extremely long period of ocean waves are tsunamis from e.g. earthquakes and landslides. Because ocean waves can travel far and can contain high energy it is important to measure ocean waves to understand their impact on shipping fishing, tourism, constructions, shorelines, water mixing, sediment resuspension, gas exchange etc.

Methods to measure Ocean Waves:

There is a range of technologies to measure ocean waves including microwave from space, various types of radars and spot measurements from below or at the surface. Microwave and radar give an overview but cannot provide the same level of detailed information as the spot measurements do. In addition spot measurements with instruments and/or buoys are normally well suited to measure other relevant parameters as well e.g. currents, wind, temperature, salinity, particles, oxygen, algae etc.

Waves vary on time scales of seconds to minutes to hours. To obtain reliable information on wave dynamics requires instruments that are installed and measure continuously over longer time periods. Because waves are variable in their character a minimum calculation period of 15 minutes is recommend to assess the prevailing conditions.

 At Aanderaa we have focused on three different systems for spot measurements of ocean waves including:

Motion based waves with the Aanderaa MOTUS stand-alone directional wave sensor is designed to accurately measure waves from surface located platforms. Most MOTUS sensors are combined with Current and water quality measurements and operated in Real-time from our standard MOTUS Buoy. The MOTUS sensors features innovative electronic and mechanical filters that enables accurate wave measurements from surface platforms of any size and shape. Examples of use on third party platforms range from small autonomous surface vehicles to 30m diameter steel buoys. In general surface located wave measurements give the highest quality wave information and the possibility to simultaneously distinguish between energy and spectrum from wind formed waves and swell from different directions.  

Acoustic based directional wave sensors are mounted below the surface. They use an upward facing ADCPs (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiling) sensors to measure the orbital velocities as close to the surface as possible. Acoustic based wave measurements require that the instrument is not moving. Recommended water depth for this technology is between 10-40 m. With this technology it is also possible to obtain water current information simultaneously. To increase the accuracy of the directional wave measurements Aanderaa has developed a unique adaptive pulse technology that automatically switches between 3 different acoustic modes (two types of broadband and narrowband) depending on the wave height. The Acoustic Wave Measurements are done with SeaGuardII instruments and normally combined with pressure based wave measurements, for redundancy and independent verification, and with other water quality parameter. Another alternative is to use the stand alone Doppler Current Profiling Sensor with in-built pressure directly connected to a logger.

Pressure based sensors are mounted below the surface. By sampling in bursts non-directional waves and mm changes in the water level are detected at 2 or 4 Hz. The Aanderaa pressure based wave sensors include highly sensitive pressure elements and user selectable cut-off frequencies that pushes the limits for measuring shorter period/smaller waves from deeper locations. The pressure based wave sensors are often used in real-time connected to SmartGuard loggers or SeaGuardII instruments, combined with other parameter, or cable connected to third party loggers using serial Rs232 and/or Rs422 format. Recommended water depth for pressure based wave measurements is between 1-40 m.

The three Aanderaa methods to measure waves have been extensively compared and field verified. Please read our white papers.

    Motion Based Wave (MOTUS)

    		 Acoustic Based Wave (SeaGuardII DCP Wave) Pressure Based Wave (Wave & Tide Sensor)
    Depth
    • 5 to several 1000 m
    • 10-40 meters depth*
    • Maximum 40 meters depth*

    Parameters

    (Parameters automatically calculated in real time by the sensor)
    • Height, Period, Steepness, Irregularity of Sea, Energy spectrum, Raw data time series.

    • Directional wave spectrum, Peak wave direction, Directional  spreading, Long Crestedness, Orbital ratio spectrum, Fourrier coefficients spectra, Separate between swell and wind driven waves
    • Height, Period, Steepness, Irregularity of Sea, Energy spectrum, Tide, Temperature, Currents, Raw data time series
    • Directional wave spectrum, Peak wave direction, Directional  spreading, Orbital ratio spectrum, Fourrier coefficients spectra
    • Height, Period, Steepness, Irregularity of Sea, Energy period, Tide, Temperature, Raw data time series
    Benefits
    • Highest accuracy
    • Add currents and water quality
    • Easy to maintain
    • At surface
    • Combine wave, current, tide and temp from one instrument
    • Add water quality
    • At bottom
    • Robust and easy to install sensor
    • Low cost alternative stand-alone or in a system
    • Below surface

    * Deeper installations is possible but will reduce the possibility to measure short period waves. 

    MOTUS Directional Wave Buoys

    Collect reliable environmental data with MOTUS Wave Buoy

    The MOTUS (movement in Latin) Wave Buoy is a perfect solution for collecting environmental data in coastal areas. The platform used for collecting data is the robust MOTUS buoy which has proven to be an excellent platform for providing high accuracy and reliable meteorological and oceanographic data. The MOTUS Wave Buoy can effectively combine various Hydrological and Meteorological parameters. Basic parameters such as wind, waves, and currents can easily be expanded to include sensor packages with different biofouling-protected water quality sensors. Data is controlled and synchronized by the data management systems that Xylem Analytics offers which also controls and powers the real time communication. This provides a low power efficient system offering long-term deployment capabilities.

    SeaGuardII DCP Wave


    The SeaGuardII DCP Wave is a 600kHz Doppler Current Profiler able to measure directional wave parameters, currents and water quality from a bottom-mounted installation. 

    • Recommended deployment depth is 10-40 m. 
    • Available as a self-recording instrument, it is easily integrated into a real-time system and offers reliable two-way communication.
    • Redundant wave measurement for QA/QC can be implemented by adding the wave and tide sensor 5218.
    • Field validated data-comparison with MOTUS buoy, Datawell Waverider, and pressure based non-directional wave sensor
    • Measures wave from centimeters to 20 meters
    • 2Hz or 4Hz wave sampling

    Adaptive pulse technology automatically optimizes wave measurement accuracy
    The transmission pulse is automatically adapted to the current sea conditions to provide the best measurement possible; a low-noise broadband mode is used for smaller waves, an extended-range broadband mode is used for medium-range waves, and a narrowband mode is applied for higher waves.


    Wave and Tide Sensor

    The Wave and Tide Sensor is a compact fully integrated sensor for measuring wave and tide conditions.

    The 5218 sensor is designed to be mounted on the Aanderaa SeaGuard top-end plate or connected to SmartGuard using AiCaP CANbus or in other measurement systems using the RS-232 interface.

    The 5218R sensor is designed for use with long cables by means of RS-422 full duplex interface.

    5218/5218R is based on a silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor that integrates high quality temperature measurements.

    The tide measurement is an average of the hydrostatic pressure measured at 2 or 4 Hz over a time period of 10 seconds to 8 minutes (the integration time is configurable by the user). The update interval is between 1 second and 255 minutes. The individual pressure measurements can be stored in the time series for further analysis.

    The wave measurements are based on the pressure time series measured at 2 or 4 Hz over a time period of 64 seconds to 17 minutes (configurable by the user). The update interval is between 1 second and 255 minutes. The individual pressure measurements can be stored in the time series for additional analysis.

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    Worldwide Representatives for Aanderaa

    Three Reasons Why we Measure Waves and Currents


    The MOTUS (movement in Latin) Wave Buoy is a perfect solution for collecting environmental data in coastal areas. The platform used for collecting data is the robust MOTUS buoy which has proven to be an excellent platform for providing high accuracy and reliable meteorological and oceanographic data.

    Related Products

    Profiling Current Meter

    The SeaGuardII DCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler - ADCP) measures currents and can be extended with wave direction, oxygen, conductivity, turbidity, temperature, and serial sensors.

    MOTUS Wave Buoy

    The MOTUS (movement in Latin) Wave Buoy is a perfect solution for collecting environmental data in coastal areas.

    Single Sensors

    Aquatic environments are constantly changing. Regardless if you model effects of climate change on a global scale, operate an aquaculture facility, study the impact of human activities in the coastal zone, spreading of pollution, ecosystem changes, or are involved in coastal or off-shore constructions, measurements of relevant water quality parameters are fundamental to understand ongoing changes and risks and make it possible to calibrate and verify mathematical models.

    SeaGuard Sensor String

    The Aanderaa SEAGUARD® Sensor String Systems are complete and flexible subsea observatories for measurements of e.g. dissolved oxygen, conductivity, temperature, current, pressure and tide.

    Stand-Alone Doppler Current Sensor

    The Aanderaa Current Sensors are available in a profiling and a single-point version with three depth ratings. We offer Doppler Current Profiler Sensor, Doppler Current Sensor and the In-line ZPulse Doppler Current Sensor.