Deployment of the 1st new generation mooring profiler in the
Eastern Mediterranean Levantine Basin
A new generation mooring profiler deployed recently by the Cyprus
Oceanography Centre, University of Cyprus (OC-UCY) at the depth of 310
meters, east offshore Cyprus in the Eastern Levantine Basin, in cooperation
with the Experimental Design Bureau of Oceanological Engineering of the
Russian Academy of Sciences, the SignalGeneriX Cyprus and the Maritime
Institute of Eastern Mediterranean. At present the mooring profilerAquaLog furnished with an SBE19plus CTD measuring pressure,
temperature and conductivity. In a later step, upon the availability of funds,
an ADCP for currents and biochemical sensors, such as dissolved oxygen,
fluorometer, turbidimeter, etc, will be simply plugged at the carrier.
The autonomous operation of the OC-UCY mooring profiler moves up and
down along a taut wire, at present between a subsurface flotation at the
depth of 18 m and the depth of 250 m, at predefined time intervals, at
present every 6 hours, that can be modified in accordance to the sampling
strategy. The sampling strategy is easily programmable, allowing an
autonomous robotic operation of the profiler (moving speed, sampling
frequency and etc), while profiling the water column the attached sensors
carry out measurements, store the data internally and may transmit them
via telecommunication. The mooring profiling system allows to obtain a
regular time series of vertical profiles at a fixed geographical location by
using well established modern oceanographic sensors, such as CTD, ADCP,
which are attached to the carrier. The mooring profiler has been associated
within the observing component of the CYCOFOS system and at present it
is in the second month of operation. New developments to increase the
range of the power supply and telecommunication are in progress.
Map with the location of the OC- UCY mooring profile.
Time series of salinity profiles from
the OC-UCY mooring profiler,
27/06/2011 to 27/07/2011
Time series of temperature profiles
from the OC-UCY mooring profiler,
27/06/2011 to 27/07/2011
.
The AquaLog carrier at OC-UCY
Рreparation of the AquaLog carrier.
The AquaLog in action offshore Cyprus