Quality and Reliability of Current Measurements: A case study of overlapping ADCP datasets obtained in deep water Gulf of Mexico

The introduction of the mineral management services (MMS) notice to Lessees requiring the deployment of current monitoring systems from platforms and mobile offshore drilling units (MODU´s) in the gulf of Mexico has raised the awareness of the need for accurate and precise installations of monitoring equipment in order to ensure that the quality and reliability of measured current data are not compromised. This paper reports the findings from a comparison of several datasets obtained over a three year period from various deep water locations in the gulf of Mexico. Each data set has an upward looking and a downward looking acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) with some overlap of data in the water column. This paper also provides an overview of general installation and measurement procedures and those necessary to achieve the highest quality of data return taking into account the results of the comparison report.