SeaCATs, the CTD family consisting of the 16plus V2 and 19plus V2, were first developed in late 1985 back when Sea-Bird had barely evolved past a garage operation. When a customer requested a moored CTD – the first that Sea-Bird had ever built, Sea-Bird's team...
The acronym “CTD” might unofficially represent more than just conductivity, temperature, and depth. Since most CTDs include one or more auxiliary sensors, a given CTD package might technically be called a “CTDpHDOFLNTUTr” (CTD + pH + dissolved oxygen + fluorescence +...
This salinity profile was from an arctic deployment in rough seas. At a certain point, we see regular salinity spikes of about ± .01 psu in the upcast data. Can you determine what caused this?
Did you know that the sensors that power BGC-Argo are also in heavy use on shipboard and moored platforms? Learn about the analogous BGC sensors for deployment on moorings and vessels, and how your field crew can keep stride with ocean robots.
From bottom contact triggers to transmissometers, oceanographic sensor options are vast and diverse, and choosing the right combination of sensors can significantly augment a CTD’s measurement capabilities. Although getting disparate technologies to talk to one...
Dissolved oxygen should not be negative. Can you determine the error that created the unusual oxygen profile above?
Unlike analog auxiliary sensors, instruments that output serial RS-232 data are more challenging to integrate with Sea-Bird Scientific CTDs. Despite RS-232 being a standard communication protocol, most instruments have a unique data output format and command set. As...
Although they should match perfectly, the two sensors rarely reported the same temperature value throughout their deployment. Furthermore, the 16plusV2 appeared to stop logging, although the batteries still had life upon recovery. Can you identify the problem?
The data shows conductivity from a 19plus deployed in a shallow estuarine river. The red line shows the CTD downcast and the green line shows the upcast. While the upcast data show the expected shape for a CTD profile (low conductivity at the surface, rising conductivity as the CTD descends), the downcast shows an unusual shape in until about 2.6 meters depth, where conductivity appears to suddenly correct itself.
May 2020 Newsletter The data above show two major symptoms of the same problem occurring in different locations on a 19plusV2 profiling CTD. On the left, oxygen appears to drop below zero and is highly erratic during the downcast (light blue). However, once it hits a...
The Oceanography Society (TOS) and Sea-Bird Scientific are proud to have partnered in hosting a webinar focused on sharing insights and advice with current students or recent graduates on how they can transition from their education to a role in academia and/or...
Celebrating and honoring our LGBTQIA+ communities At Sea-Bird Scientific, we are proud to stand with members of the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month 2023. As with last year, we changed our logo on social media to feature a rainbow throughout the month of June in...
We are proud to work with such excellent partners, one of them being the team over at Oceanography Magazine! This month, we are excited to feature Ellen Kappel, Oceanography Magazine Editor, for our May Partner Spotlight. Oceanography magazine is an excellent source...