This project is a collaborative effort between William Emery at the University of Colorodo and Albert Bradley at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. It is a feasibility study for developing an electronic bathythermograph (EBT) that would serve a similar purpose as presently-used expendable XBTs. A probe with sensors would be released from a moving ship. It free-falls through the water column, collecting and storing temperature and pressure data to some specified depth. The probe would then be spooled back in and retrieved by an attached synthetic line. After recovery, stored data would be dumped and the instrument prepared for additional deployments. Anticipated advantages of the reusable EBT over the XBT are improved data quality from repeating use of the same sensors, direct measurment of pressure as a function of depth, reduced logistic costs, and potential use on volunteer observing ships. The recent introduction and availability of very thin and strong, long-chain polymer line, suggests that such retrievable probes are now feasible. The project will result in a technical feasibility report, and might possibly be the mechanical engineering proof-of-concept basis for a full instrument development proposal.
