Journals 2003/2004

Sarah Quan
Narragansett High School, Narragansett, RI

Today we are crisscrossing the Iceland-Faeroe Front doing a series of CTD's (conductivity, temperature, and depth) and ADCP's (Accoustic Doppler Current Profilier). The CTD system requires the ship to stop and remain in position while the instrument is lowered to depth. A continuous depth profile of salinity is provided by measuring the conductivity of seawater as the devise descends. Temperature readings are also taken in addition to pressure readings, which can be converted to density. The ADCP unit sits in a drop keel that can be lowered 2 meters below the ship. It collects data on currents from the surface to a depth of about 400 meters.