An automatically profiling temperature sensor for upper ocean measurements

An automatically profiling buoy system has been developed for measuring temperature in the upper 50 meters of the ocean. Temperature and pressure sensors are housed in a profiling unit which is tethered to a support buoy on the surface via a neutrally buoyant electrical cable and air hose. An air bladder within the profiler causes the profiler to cycle between the surface and a predetermined depth. The support buoy contains a compressed air system, a microcomputer-based data acquisition system, a telemetry link and batteries. A comparison between the buoy system and an XBT is presented to illustrate the system´s capability.