A microcomputer based system for current-meter data acquisition

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting current measurements as part of an interdisciplinary study of the San Francisco Bay estuarine system. The current meters used in the study record current speed, direction, temperature, and conductivity in digital codes on magnetic tape cartridges. Upon recovery of the current meters, the data tapes are translated by a tape reader into computer codes for further analyses. Quite often the importance of the data processing phase of a current-measurement program is underestimated and downplayed. In this paper a data-processing system which performs the complete data processing and analyses is described. The system, which is configured around an LSI-11 microcomputer, has been assembled to provide the capabilities of data translation, reduction, and tabulation and graphical display immediately following recovery of current meters. The flexibility inherent in a microcomputer has made it available to perform many other research functions which would normally be done on an institutional computer.