San Diego, CA, August 4, 2004 -- For many leading hydrologists, the tool of the future is a single instrument capable of measuring river and stream discharge across a far wider range of depths and conditions than presently possible. Working toward this target, RD Instrument (RDI) of San Diego, CA was recently awarded a patent for a dual frequency ADCP, or Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (U.S. patent number 6,714,482 B2). Twelve years ago, RDI's ADCPs sparked the last revolution in measuring river discharge, with the worldwide adoption of the ADCP-based moving boat method for measuring discharge.

Currently under development, RDI's dual-frequency ADCP will permit detailed river and stream surveys of water depths from 1-150 feet by means of a single instrument. The lower frequency provides long-range profiling capability and improved bottom tracking at all depths, even under high sediment and moving bottom sediment conditions. The higher frequency provides the spatial-resolution required for accurate profiling of shallow gauging sites and boundary flows.

Based upon RDI's patented 2-D Phased Array transducer, the new dual-frequency ADCP is smaller and lighter and has a more streamlined form factor than previously possible. These features result in less flow disturbance in the water and a compact, portable package out of the water.

For more information about RDI’s dual-frequency ADCPs, contact Earl Childress via email at echildress@teledyne.com, or via telephone at 858-842-2600.

For more information about RD Instruments, or RDI’s full line of acoustic Doppler products, go online at http://www.rdinstruments.com.

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