Evaluation of the Sparton Tight-Tolerance AXBT
Abstract
Forty-six near-simultaneous pairs of conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) and Sparton 'tight tolerance' air expendable bathythermograph (AXBT) temperature profiles were obtained in summer 1991 from a location in the Sargasso Sea. The data were analyzed to assess the temperature and depth accuracies of the Sparton AXBTs. The tight-tolerance criterion was not achieved using the manufacturer's equations but may have been achieved using customized equations computed from the CTD data. The temperature data from the customized equations had a one standard deviation error of 0.13 deg C. A customized elapsed fall time-to-depth conversion equation was found to be z= 1,620t- 2.2384 x 10(exp-4)t2 + 1.291 X 10(exp-7)t to the 3rd, with z the depth in meters and t the elapsed fall time after probe release in seconds. The standard deviation of the depth error was about 5 m; a rule of thumb for estimating maximum bounds on the depth error below 100 m could be expressed as + or - 2% of depth or + or - l0 m, whichever is greater. This equation gave greater depth accuracy than either the manufacturer's supplied equation or the Navy standard equation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA275350
Entities
People
- Janice D. Boyd
- Robert S. Linzell
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory