AOOS Home -> PWSO0S Home -> Observing System Components home -> Current Meters

Current Meters

Current meters are devices that measure the currents of the ocean. The main things that scientists like to know about the movement of the water are the speed and the direction that the current is flowing in. There are several different types of current meters. The older ones are designed similar to the roosters that people install on their roof in order to see the direction of the wind. In addition to the little paddle that steers the meter in the direction of the flow an anemometer (link) records the current velocity. A later type of current meter is through the use of the Doppler Effect, where the meter sends out acoustic signals that are reflected on particles in the water with a different frequency from which the instrument computes the actual current velocity.

The only way to effectively use current meters is through oceanographic moorings (link?). Oceanographers go to sea on research vessels and drop a heavy weight, mostly n old railroad wheel, into the water at the desired position in the ocean. Attached to the weight is a string that is kept vertically in the water by a float. Current meters and other scientific instruments can then be attached to the string in any depth in order to record the parameters of the ocean.