ASL Upgrades Acoustic Zooplankton Fish Profiler

With its selection for inclusion in the U.S. Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) in 2014, the Acoustic Zooplankton Fish Profiler (AZFP) is becoming the global standard for autonomous scientific multi-frequency echosounders, said ASL Environmental Sciences.

ASL has added a 2MHz channel to its product, which already includes 38, 70, 125, 200, 455 and 769 kHz. This new high-frequency, short-range channel is aimed at studies involving sediment and small zooplankton. The cabled single frequency 2 MHz transducer is shown in figure 1. The nominal beam angle of 7 degrees at -3dB matches the other high frequency AZFP channels, ideal for multiple-frequency studies.

According to the manufacturer, the AZFP is a powerful tool for scientific research and environmental monitoring in oceans, lakes and rivers. The ASL AZFP offers an economical way of obtaining reliable measures of marine environmental conditions in the water column. Using onboard data storage, the AZFP can collect data continuously for periods of up to one year at high temporal and spatial resolution and is available with up to four frequencies. It can be operated in bottom‐mounted, upward looking mode, on a glider or in downward looking mode from a buoy, and is suited for taut‐line mooring operation, but other options are available. The AZFP has highly configurable sampling programs.