The ClearSat Littoral Drifter is a Nortek Aquadopp vertical profiling ADCP integrated with a fully autonomous surface drifter. Contained within a compact surface drifter hull are a ClearSat-4.1 controller, NavMan Jupiter 31 GPS and Iridium SBD modem. 3-D currents vectors, precise depth and drifter track can be sampled and recorded as rapidly as 1 Hz, All data are recorded internally on a 250 MB internal memory. A subset data sample is relayed in real time by Iridium SBD every 10 minutes.

The ClearSat Littoral Drifter will be useful to oceanographers, coastal and coastal engineers for rapidly surveying currents in shallow coastal waters, such as flows over tidal flats, and rapidly varying bathymetry. The choice of 1 MHz or 2 MHz Aquadopp heads permit current profiling between 6 and 20 m. Processed data can shows 3-D currents and bathymetry along the the drift track of Littoral Drifter.

Spring-loaded spars allow quick deployment and easy stowage. Data download, firmware upgrades, battery charging and Aquadopp configuration are accomplished through waterproof connectors.