EPSONDE: an instrument to measure turbulence in the deep ocean

Author

Oakey, Neil S.

Author_Institution

Canadian Dept. of Fisheries & Oceans, Bedford Inst. of Oceanogr., Darmouth, NS, Canada

Volume

13

Issue

3

fYear

1988

fDate

7/1/1988 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

124

Lastpage

128

Abstract

EPSONDE is a tethered free-fall profiling system used to obtain temperature microstructure and velocity turbulence data to a depth of at least 1500 m. EPSONDE, which carries a variety of slow and fast sensors, is deployed on a loose kevlar multiconductor cable by a specialized wire-handling system. Data are transmitted from this underwater unit (1792 samples per second) to a shipboard system which includes a dedicated microcomputer for data logging and online data processing. The performance of this system is demonstrated by discussing a study of turbulent mixing processes in a lens of Mediterranean water (a MEDDY) found at a depth of 1000 m in the Canary basin. These studies indicate that turbulent kinetic energy dissipation may be an important mechanism in determining the decay and lifetime of a MEDDY

Keywords

computerised instrumentation; electric sensing devices; flow measurement; microcomputer applications; oceanographic equipment; oceanography; temperature measurement; turbulence; velocity measurement; 1000 m; 1500 m; Canary basin; EPSONDE; MEDDY; Mediterranean water; data logging; decay; dedicated microcomputer; deep ocean; lifetime; loose kevlar multiconductor cable; oceanographic equipment; online data processing; shipboard system; temperature microstructure; tethered free-fall profiling system; turbulent kinetic energy; turbulent mixing processes; velocity turbulence; wire-handling system; Data processing; Instruments; Lenses; Microcomputers; Microstructure; Ocean temperature; Sea measurements; Sensor systems; Temperature sensors; Underwater cables;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Oceanic Engineering, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0364-9059

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/48.566

Filename

566