Data · dataset · 2026
Polaris: a GPS-navigated ocean acoustic current profiler
Listed in National Center for Atmospheric Research
Results from an initial feasibility study to test whether Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation can be combined with more traditional acoustic methods to measure ocean current profiles are presented.
Description
A typical acoustic current profiler such as PEGASUS measures currents by ranging on two acoustic sources (one-way beacons or two-way transponders) as it falls or rises through the water column. These sources must be previously deployed on the bottom, and their positions accurately determined via the attending research vessel.
As discussed below, this procedure introduces a number of complications. In particular, any unresolved errors in the source deployment will remain as systematic errors in the resulting velocity data. The method described here replaces the bottom-mounted sources with hydrophones drifting near the ocean surface.
Read the rest (2 more)
The positions of these hydrophones are computed every few seconds using GPS. This feasibility test shows that a combined GPS-acoustic system can approach accuracy levels found in the standard method. Furthermore, systematic errors can be significantly reduced.
Random errors are estimated to be approximately ±1â2 cm sâ»Â¹ dependent on station geometry.
Links
Get the data
- Publisher page n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7p270q3 ↗
documentation · download · from data ucar edu
Where it is published
- data.ucar.edu /dataset/polaris-a-gps-navigated-ocean-acoustic-current-profiler ↗
National Center for Atmospheric Research dataset page
landing page · from data ucar edu
Catalogue records · 1
- CKAN API data.ucar.edu/api/3/action/package_show?id=95fa16ed-9469-44a3-a78d-0ebbd6fd1… ↗
metadata API · from data ucar edu
Topics
- From keywords
- Earth & Environmental Science · Ocean & Atmospheric Science
- Inferred from text
- Geophysics 72%
Provenance · 1 source records, 8 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Center for Atmospheric Research | 95fa16ed-9469-44a3-a78d-0ebbd6fd1dd0 | 10 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| concepts[field].anzsrc:group:3706 | enrichment · data ucar edu | taxonomy-embedding@1.1.0 | title+keywords+description (72%) |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:ocean-atmospheric | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| created_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| description | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /notes |
| publication_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /title |
| updated_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 |