A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interface
This paper describes a near-surface ocean profiler, which has been designed to precisely measure vertical gradients in the top 10 m of the ocean. Variations in the depth of seawater collection are minimized when using the profiler compared to conventional CTD/rosette deployments. The profiler co...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2017-09-01
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| Series: | Ocean Science |
| Online Access: | https://www.ocean-sci.net/13/649/2017/os-13-649-2017.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811281882681180160 |
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| author | R. P. Sims R. P. Sims U. Schuster A. J. Watson M. X. Yang F. E. Hopkins J. Stephens T. G. Bell |
| author_facet | R. P. Sims R. P. Sims U. Schuster A. J. Watson M. X. Yang F. E. Hopkins J. Stephens T. G. Bell |
| author_sort | R. P. Sims |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper describes a near-surface ocean profiler, which
has been designed to precisely measure vertical gradients in the top 10 m of
the ocean. Variations in the depth of seawater collection are minimized when
using the profiler compared to conventional CTD/rosette deployments. The
profiler consists of a remotely operated winch mounted on a tethered yet free-floating buoy, which is used to raise and lower a small frame housing sensors
and inlet tubing. Seawater at the inlet depth is pumped back to the ship for
analysis. The profiler can be used to make continuous vertical profiles or to
target a series of discrete depths. The profiler has been successfully
deployed during wind speeds up to 10 m s<sup>−1</sup> and significant wave
heights up to 2 m. We demonstrate the potential of the profiler by
presenting measured vertical profiles of the trace gases carbon dioxide and
dimethylsulfide. Trace gas measurements use an efficient microporous membrane
equilibrator to minimize the system response time. The example profiles show
vertical gradients in the upper 5 m for temperature, carbon dioxide and
dimethylsulfide of 0.15 °C, 4 µatm and 0.4 nM
respectively. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:41:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-154a41863ff7414389d078862572f5fa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1812-0784 1812-0792 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:41:36Z |
| publishDate | 2017-09-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ocean Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-154a41863ff7414389d078862572f5fa2022-12-22T03:08:09ZengCopernicus PublicationsOcean Science1812-07841812-07922017-09-011364966010.5194/os-13-649-2017A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interfaceR. P. Sims0R. P. Sims1U. Schuster2A. J. Watson3M. X. Yang4F. E. Hopkins5J. Stephens6T. G. Bell7Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UKUniversity of Exeter, Exeter, UKUniversity of Exeter, Exeter, UKUniversity of Exeter, Exeter, UKPlymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UKPlymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UKPlymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UKPlymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UKThis paper describes a near-surface ocean profiler, which has been designed to precisely measure vertical gradients in the top 10 m of the ocean. Variations in the depth of seawater collection are minimized when using the profiler compared to conventional CTD/rosette deployments. The profiler consists of a remotely operated winch mounted on a tethered yet free-floating buoy, which is used to raise and lower a small frame housing sensors and inlet tubing. Seawater at the inlet depth is pumped back to the ship for analysis. The profiler can be used to make continuous vertical profiles or to target a series of discrete depths. The profiler has been successfully deployed during wind speeds up to 10 m s<sup>−1</sup> and significant wave heights up to 2 m. We demonstrate the potential of the profiler by presenting measured vertical profiles of the trace gases carbon dioxide and dimethylsulfide. Trace gas measurements use an efficient microporous membrane equilibrator to minimize the system response time. The example profiles show vertical gradients in the upper 5 m for temperature, carbon dioxide and dimethylsulfide of 0.15 °C, 4 µatm and 0.4 nM respectively.https://www.ocean-sci.net/13/649/2017/os-13-649-2017.pdf |
| spellingShingle | R. P. Sims R. P. Sims U. Schuster A. J. Watson M. X. Yang F. E. Hopkins J. Stephens T. G. Bell A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interface Ocean Science |
| title | A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interface |
| title_full | A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interface |
| title_fullStr | A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interface |
| title_full_unstemmed | A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interface |
| title_short | A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interface |
| title_sort | measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air sea interface |
| url | https://www.ocean-sci.net/13/649/2017/os-13-649-2017.pdf |
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