A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interface

Sims, RP, Schuster, U, Watson, AJ, Yang, M, Hopkins, FE, Stephens, JA and Bell, TG 2017 A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interface. Ocean Science, 13 (5). 649-660. https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-649-2017

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-649-2017

Abstract/Summary

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−1 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.

Item Type: Publication - Article
Subjects: Marine Sciences
Oceanography
Divisions: Plymouth Marine Laboratory > Science Areas > Marine Biochemistry and Observations
Depositing User: Dr Thomas George Bell
Date made live: 05 Oct 2017 11:56
Last Modified: 25 Apr 2020 09:58
URI: https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7555

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