Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) is a hydroacoustic current-measurement instrument that uses Doppler-shifted sound returns to profile water-current speed and direction through the water column. Teledyne RD Instruments, Nortek, NOAA, NASA, and USGS sources document ADCPs as shipboard, moored, seafloor, buoy, vehicle-mounted, and river-discharge instruments, with the cataloged Haixun 08 fit showing how this commercial sensor class appears in a hydrographic survey-vessel suite.
ADCP is a broad instrument class rather than a single weapon model. These rows identify representative Teledyne RD Instruments and Nortek product families that show the main deployment and range categories without treating one model's specifications as universal.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shipboard ADCP (SADCP) | Hull-mounted or vessel-mounted configuration | NOAA's shipboard ADCP archive covers science-ready cruise data from 1985 onward, and NOAA Fisheries describes a four-transducer ADCP aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. Sources: NOAA NCEI: Joint Archive for Shipboard ADCP, NOAA Fisheries: Shimada ADCP explainer |
| Teledyne Workhorse II Sentinel | Self-contained moored/current-profile ADCP | Teledyne lists 300, 600, and 1200 kHz configurations with maximum profiling ranges of 160 m, 70 m, and 20 m. Sources: Teledyne Workhorse II Sentinel ADCP |
| Teledyne Workhorse II Monitor | Direct-reading ADCP | Teledyne lists 300, 600, and 1200 kHz configurations with maximum profiling ranges of 154 m, 66 m, and 19 m, plus bottom-tracking ranges for moving-platform work. Sources: Teledyne Workhorse II Monitor ADCP |
| Teledyne Pinnacle 45 | Long-range 45 kHz phased-array ADCP | Teledyne's datasheet describes a 45 kHz phased-array ADCP capable of profiling ocean currents to 1,000 m from vessel, platform, buoy, bottom-frame, and in-line-frame installations. Sources: Teledyne Pinnacle 45 Datasheet |
| Nortek Signature 55 | Long-range ocean current profiler | Nortek describes more than 1,000 m current-profiling range for stand-alone and online applications, including deep-ocean and buoy work. Sources: Nortek Signature 55 Current Profiler |
| Nortek Signature 100 | Current profiler with optional scientific echosounder | Nortek describes a 100 kHz four-beam current profiler with 300-400 m range and an optional 70-120 kHz center echosounder. |
| Nortek Aquadopp Profiler | Compact profiler family | Nortek's oceanography catalog lists 1 MHz, 600 kHz, and 400 kHz Aquadopp Profiler options with representative 25 m, 40 m, and 90 m current-profiling ranges. Sources: Nortek Oceanography Product Catalog |
| Nortek 2D Horizontal Profiler | Fixed horizontal ADCP | Nortek describes a 400 kHz horizontal profiler for side-wall and port-entrance applications with up to 130 m horizontal profiling range. Sources: Nortek 2D Horizontal Profiler |
Haixun 08 is publicly described as carrying ADCP gear as part of its ocean-measurement suite.
| Carrier | Carrier type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Hydrographic survey vessel | The China Society article says Haixun 08 is equipped with ADCP gear as part of its ocean-measurement suite. |
ADCPs are support sensors rather than weapons. Their value is the current profile they generate for survey, navigation, science, and hydrology tasks.
The instrument sends acoustic pings into the water and derives current speed and direction from Doppler-shifted echoes returned by suspended particles.
Public sources describe shipboard, moored, seafloor, buoy, unmanned-vehicle, and river-survey deployments, with Haixun 08 documenting one cataloged survey-vessel installation.
No direct source found in this pass independently documents the ADCP itself as a conflict-use item, so the record remains a relationship-only support page.
Teledyne Marine says RD Instruments was founded in 1982 and developed the first commercial acoustic Doppler current profiler.
Sources: Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCPs) at Teledyne Marine
NOAA NCEI's Joint Archive for Shipboard ADCP data includes cruise datasets beginning in 1985 and continuing to the present.
Sources: NOAA NCEI: Joint Archive for Shipboard ADCP
NOAA Fisheries described an ADCP aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada using four transducers and navigation data to estimate ocean-current speed and direction.
Sources: NOAA Fisheries: Shimada ADCP explainer
