Instrumentation

Acoustic Wave And Current (AWAC) Meter

The AWAC (manufactured by Nortek) is an instrument that provides both a current profiler and a wave directional system in one unit. The AWAC measures the current speed and direction in one-meter thick layers from the seafloor to the surface, as well as measures long waves, storm waves, short wind waves, or transient waves generated by local ship traffic.

Cal Poly has two AWAC's: one in Avila Beach and the other in Pismo Beach. The AWAC in Avila is mounted in a steel frame on the seafloor at a depth of approximately 39 feet from the surface, about 20 meters off the south end of the Cal Poly Pier. The Pismo AWAC is mounted in about the same way as the one in Avila, about 20 meters off the end of the Pismo Pier.

Click on the AWAC pictured below to bring up a PDF describing its function in more detail. Also, for updated, real-time values of the currents, waves, and time-series plots in Avila or Pismo Beach, click on the links directly below.

This is Cal Poly's AWAC in Avila Beach, showing the tri-pod it sits in on the ocean floor. Note that it is covered with a protective coat of anti-fouling paint, to guard against the growth of barnacles and other marine organisms upon it.