Salinity estimation from Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter measurements.

Estuarine environments tend to present significant salinity variations that can be relevant for hydrodynamics and sediment transport processes. In these environments salinity is usually estimated with high accuracy from conductivity, temperature, and pressure measurements using special instrumentation. However, there may be situations where it would be practical to use the information recorded by Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters (ADVs) to estimate the salinity. In this work we present how the Probe Check information saved by the Vector ADV (Nortek, Norway), may be used to estimate the water salinity. A short theoretical explanation that justifies the proposed methodology and its practical implementation are presented. The salinity estimation obtained from the ADV Probe Check data is compared with the one computed from the conductivity, temperature and pressure records of a CTD in the Río de la Plata estuary. The results showed that the proposed methodology can be confidently used to estimate the salinity in estuarine environments. • Salinity variations in estuaries were estimated with Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters. • Sound speed estimations showed a 5% standard error. • The new technique was verified during a deployment in the Rio de la Plata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]