Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) services
Orkney has become the focus of tidal and wave power developers from all over the world. With its western coastline open to the Atlantic, it has a massive wave energy resource. The Pentland Firth and numerous channels between the islands also have a significant tidal resource. Work has been going on for some years to both test the potential of this resource and develop wave and tidal power devices to capture this energy. The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), based in Stromness, provides test facilities for wave and tide power devices. The recent licencing round by the Crown Estate is likely to see a further surge in interest, with survey work being undertaken over a wide area to identify suitable sites for the deployment of wave and tidal energy devices.
Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) are commonly used to gather information on the wave and/or tidal characteristics of a site. These are typically deployed in steel frames which are deployed on the seabed for a period of weeks or months, before being retrieved and the information downloaded.
Bowtang Aquatic Solutions, based in Stromness, Orkney, provides a variety of ADCP deployment services:
- ADCP frame hire
- ADCP programming
- ADCP deployment
- Mooring systems
ADCP frames include gravity and seabed fixed options. Frame design and deployment methods have been developed after years of working in Orkney's extremely challenging wave and tidal environments.
Although primarily aimed at the developing renewables industry in Orkney, ADCP equipment can be delivered worldwide.