Water Current Measurements using Oceanographic Bottom LanderLoTUS?

Abstract: oTUS is a Long Term Underwater Sensing, bottom landing, node for observations of ocean water temperatures. LoTUS measures temperature (moored to the seafloor) according to a spec-ified time schedule until, at the end of the mission, it surfaces to transmit the collected data to on shore recipients using an Iridium link. The paper presents an extension of the sensing capability to include water current velocity (speed and direction) using a robust, reliable and inexpensive Eulerian method. The method is based on the "tilting stick" principle where a combination of inertia measurement data and magnetic sensor data is used. The paper discusses the principal technique, the modeling of the system, practical considerations, and optimization of the setup for specific flow conditions along with verifying experimental data.