DEPTH OF SENSORS FIXED TO A TOWED CHAIN,
Abstract
One important piece of scientific equipment now in use on oceanographic research vessels is the thermaltow, an instrument which utilizes a faired cable (267 meters long on the Texas A and M University vessel ALAMINOS) with thermistors attached at 7.6 meter intervals and with a pressure (or depth) transducer at the end of the chain. The cable may be towed at speeds up to approximately ten knots and data are recorded automatically in several forms in the ship laboratory. As ship speed, wind, ocean current, sea state and other conditions change, the depth attained by the 267 meter cable changes. Thus, the thermistors (or other sensors) affixed to the chain also change depth and a way must be found to determine the depth at which each is functioning. On ALAMINOS Cruise 64-A-7, May, 1964, data were collected from which a depth determination chart was developed. The nature of this chart and its practical application are the subject of this presentation. In brief, the chart is a set of scales such that, given the depth reading from the chain end, the depth associated with any particular point along the chain length may be read off. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0615540
Entities
People
- Dale F. Leipper
Organizations
- Texas A&M University