RDI Wave Time Series

Data files for RDI Workhorse Waves Array are described here. For data products with the full PD0 ensemble, see RDI ADCP Time Series. For ancillary data, e.g., temperature, pitch, roll, see Time Series Scalar Data and Scalar Plot.

RDI Wave Time Series data is processed by RDI's wavesMon software, go here to acquire the software. A simple, free login is required for customer support purposes. Tips on using this software are described below.

Oceans 3.0 API filter: dataProductCode=RWTS

Revision History

  1. 201103XX: Initial data product released
  2. 201303XX: Switch to using the PD0 ensemble

Formats

This data is available in the manufacturer wave packet format (extension is .000).

Wave Packet Format (.000)

Available from March 2011 to February 21, 2013.

This binary wave packet format is specific to the manufacturer. When using Teledyne-RDI data acquisition software, data is normally stored in this way. It contains the individual wave and current measurements, and can be subsequently post-processed for derived parameters using RDI WavesMon or custom software.

To produce the file, the following requirements apply:

  • A new .000 file is started at the beginning of each day, or when the driver is restarted (this should account for configuration changes, site changes, etc).
  • Only records with valid checksums are included.
  • The instrument date/time field is replaced using the NEPTUNE timestamp at the beginning of the log file (since this timestamp is more accurate than the instrument clock), and the checksum is recalculated.
  • To avoid partial wave bursts, the first data record will be that of the first wave burst following the provided start date/time. Moreover, if the provided end date/time is in the middle of a wave burst, the date/time range is extended to ensure that wave burst is complete.

This format is further described in section 4.4 of the WavesMon User Guide (see instrument documentation page).

Oceans 3.0 API filter: extension=000

Example: RDIADCP600WH9256_20110322T001425Z.000

PD0 Ensemble Format (-PD0.000)

Available from February 22, 2013 onwards.

This binary format is nearly identical to the wave packet format, except that more data is included. This data product change corresponds with a device configuration change on February 23, 2013, when the wave packet mode was disabled in favour of serving the PD0 ensemble. The wave packet mode is preferable when conserving storage space and battery life, however that is not an issue on a cabled observatory. The PD0 ensemble offers the same functionality with the benefits of continuous wave data collection in all current bins. This data product is a renamed version of the .rdi format available under the RDI ADCP Time Series data product. .rdi files are cached, so their retrieval is very quick.

This binary format is specific to the manufacturer. When using Teledyne-RDI data acquisition software, data is normally stored in this way. Although we use custom-built drivers to communicate with our instruments, we can use the raw data in the log file to produce the RDI file which can be interpreted by Teledyne-RDI post-processing software.

To produce the file, the following requirements apply:

  • A new RDI file is started at the beginning of each day, when the maximum records per file is exceeded, or when the driver is restarted (this should account for configuration changes, site changes, etc).
  • Only records with valid checksums are included.
  • The instrument date/time field is replaced using the NEPTUNE timestamp at the beginning of the log file (since this timestamp is more accurate than the instrument clock), and the checksum is recalculated.
  • Heading data is provided by the on-board compass, which is often unreliable due to interference. Users may correct this manually in the post-processing software with known good headings. These headings may be found in the meta-data reports that accompany most data search results or in the site tab found on the device details page (see below for links).

This format is further described in the RDI Documentation.

RDI Software Notes

Post-processing and visualization is possible with the following RDI software, available from the manufacturer website: http://www.teledynemarine.com/rdi/support

  • WavesMon: The wave packet data files (.000) can be input into this software for processing of wave variables, subject to user-selected parameters. Output data files are processed wave data (.wvs), log summary of wave variables (ascii), current data (.PDO), and project parameters (.prj).To start, install and launch the software, then launch the wizard by clicking on the lightning icon in the main menu bar. Choose to reprocess some data (downloaded from data search).
    • Tip: In the ADCP Environment portion of the project set-up, choose Forced Fixed Heading. The Site tab in the device details pages (prior to August 29, 20112: 22611, afterward: 23093) provides the instrument orientation with respect to true North. The instrument's magnetic compass (default setting) is less reliable, as it is influenced by the platform materials and electronics.
    • Tip: The pressure sensor on the device can foul after several months and generate erroneous values. This will cause the wave spectra generated to be either poor or erroneous. To avoid this, one may use a Forced-Fixed Depth in ADCP Environment portion of the set-up. 20 m is the nominal depth for the current deployment.
    • Tip: In the ADCP Environment portion of the project set-up, one can select the 'Correct for Currents' option which can produce more realistic values for wave variables in the occurrence of wave-advection due to local currents.
    • Tip: WavesMon may complain about the burst ping rate not being greater than 2 Hz, this may be ignored as the ping rate is 2400 pings in 1200 seconds plus or minus 1. If there is a service interruption, WavesMon may not find expected data at the top of the file: 'Last Wave Packet First Leader not found' or 'Failed to find expected depth data!!'. These errors can be ignored as WavesMon will get the data it needs in the first full wave burst in the file. From November 13, 2012 to February 21, 2013, these error/warning messages are more common. During this time, the normal mode and wave mode data were being collected simultaneously.
  • WavesView: The .wvs file from WavesMon can be uploaded into WaveView for visualization of the wave data it contains.
  • WinADCP: The .PDO file from WavesMon can be uploaded into WinADCP for visualization of the current data it contains.

Refer to the respective user manuals for details.

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