Velocity Mapping Toolbox (VMT): a processing and visualization suite for moving‐vessel ADCP measurements

Abstract

The use of acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) for discharge measurements and three‐dimensional flow mapping has increased rapidly in recent years and has been primarily driven by advances in acoustic technology and signal processing. Recent research has developed a variety of methods for processing data obtained from a range of ADCP deployments and this paper builds on this progress by describing new software for processing and visualizing ADCP data collected along transects in rivers or other bodies of water. The new utility, the Velocity Mapping Toolbox (VMT), allows rapid processing (vector rotation, projection, averaging and smoothing), visualization (planform and cross‐section vector and contouring), and analysis of a range of ADCP‐derived datasets. The paper documents the data processing routines in the toolbox and presents a set of diverse examples that demonstrate its capabilities. The toolbox is applicable to the analysis of ADCP data collected in a wide range of aquatic environments and is made available as open‐source code along with this publication. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Empirical Modeling of Spatial 3D Flow Characteristics Using a Remote-Controlled ADCP System: Monitoring a Spring Flood

“…The density of the point cloud can make pattern detection of flow in this analysis quite challenging, especially when representing such complex and dense data on the 2D medium of paper without the ability to rotate or zoom the point cloud. For 2D analysis, a more traditional representation of 3D flow as a series of transects [15,43] may be preferable. The interpolated 3D matrix can be interpreted as a dense series of transects and should lend itself to this type of analysis, allowing the additional freedom of choosing the direction of the transects at the visualization time (with no limitation on streamwise directions), rather than at the measurement time.…”

“…Most flow mapping has focused on measurements along a series of transects in a channel measured using either an ADCP [13][14][15][16] or an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) [17][18][19][20]. Parsons et al [15] developed a set of software tools that facilitates the analysis and visualization of such transect-based measurements, and they showcase several impressive examples where a series of transects is used to characterize the 3D flow of several river reaches.…”

“…Parsons et al [15] developed a set of software tools that facilitates the analysis and visualization of such transect-based measurements, and they showcase several impressive examples where a series of transects is used to characterize the 3D flow of several river reaches. The transect-based approach gives insight into the flow field in 3D, along the transect and through the water column.…”

Three-dimensional meander bend flow within the tidally influenced fluvial zone

“…All ADCP data were postprocessed using the Velocity Mapping Toolbox (Parsons et al, 2013). This toolbox allows the analysis of ADCP data collected from moving vessels including averaging over multiple transects with an irregular shiptrack transect.…”

Flow pattern at a river diffluence at the alluvial system of the Paraná River

“…A first DEM was generated with bathymetry data collected only with the echo sounder, whereas the final DEM was produced with data captured with the echo sounder between 4 and 5 May 2010 (Table 2), and depth data estimated through the four-beam readings of the ADCP TRDI, corrected by roll and pitch with the aid of the Velocity Mapping Toolbox (VMT, Parsons et al 2013). Figure 3(a) depicts the DEM so obtained.…”