3-D Single Point Velocity (VEL3D; multiple vendors) and Single Point Velocity (VELPT; Nortek Aquadopp) current meters on the Cabled Array measure the speed and direction of local currents as well as local water temperature.
The Shallow Profilers at Oregon Offshore, Slope Base, and the Axial Base sites use Nortek Vector VELPT instruments to measure the mean velocity (speed and direction) of water in two-dimensions (U & V) as it moves past the sensor, and as the profiler float moves through the water column.
Four Nobska MAVS-4 VEL3D instruments are installed on the seafloor at Axial Seamount, Axial Base, Hydrate Ridge, and Slope Base sites in conjunction with nearby broadband seismometers because they provide important data for processing of seismic information. Local currents can introduce “noise” into the acoustic seismic signal and current meter data allows filtering of this noise to clean up the seismic data.
On Deep Profiler vehicles, the Falmouth Scientific ACM-3D-MP VEL3D instruments measure the fluctuating velocity of water moving past the sensor and the effects of platform motion on moving profilers in three-dimensions (u,v,w).
Nortek Vector VEL3D current meters are also installed on the Oregon Shelf and Oregon Offshore Benthic Experiment Platforms. Measurements from these instruments are important in understanding how heat, mass, and momentum are transported throughout the ocean, and how seawater mixes on a small scale. Measuring currents at these depths is also important for understanding the flow of ocean waters associated with the steep bathymetry along the Cascadia margin.