9730433 Moum This oceanographic instrumentation development project is to build and test a low-cost and low power sensor for in situ ocean measurements of velocity on small space scales that are critical in microstructure and turbulence studies. The proposed approach is to adapt a three-component pitot tube probe, presently used for atmospheric measurements on aircraft, for use on different oceanographic instrumentation packages. The recent commercial availability of low-cost and low-power differential pressure strain gauges suggests that newly designed velocity sensors can replace certain existing oceanographic sensors that are relatively expensive and that have high power requirements. The new sensor should be capable of resolving velocities with mms-1 resolution on scales of a few centimeters. The sensors will be adapted for dropped, towed, and moored instrument packages and will be useful for planned and envisioned long-term deployments of observational platforms for physical oceanographic investigations.
