Instrument Development

Several Instruments have been developed in the Ocean Physics Laboratory that are used in the research projects of the group.

Towed Instrument Array for Rapid Hydrographic Measurements

In order to capture short-lived small-scale oceanic eddies and fronts, we have developed a towed temperature-salinity-depth array with sensors at multiple depths down to 35 m. With tow speeds of up to 12 knots it can be used to measure the evolution of rapidly evolving small-scale oceanographic features on scales of 0.5-10 km.

Aerial Infrared Measurements of Sea Surface Temperature

We are using an infrared camera mounted on a small plane for measurements of sea surface temperature with high spatial resolution of 1-10 m. Mapping of an area of 15 km² takes 30 min; the precision is 0.07^oC. The instrument is used for rapid sampling of coastal eddies and fronts and to guide hydrographic in situ measurements.

Acoustic Bubble Spectrometer

A Dynaflow Acoustic Bubble Spectrometer (ABS) has been tested and made deployable in the oceanic environment (in collaboration with G. Deane and D. Stokes, SIO).

Noble Gas Sampler

A moored Noble Gas Sampler has been developed at the Woods Hole Oceanographi Institution in collaboration with W. Jenkins and D. Lott. It takes up to 50 gas samples during long-term deployments of up to 1 year.

De-Bubbler

A mechanical device has been developed in order to remove gas bubbles from the water intake system of a research vessel, which is necessary for accurate measurements of dissolved gases or optical properties.