Field Evaluation Of Real-Time XBT Systems

Abstract

The use of XBT's to measure the ocean's subsurface temperature has significantly increased over the past decade. NOAA is actively participating in an international effort to increase the number of subsurface temperature observations in support of global oceanographic and climate studies. NOAA's XBT program currently supports more than one hundred voluntary observing ships (VOS) . These vessels are responsible for more than 1 2 , 0 0 0 XBT observations each year. Determining the field performance of XBT data systems is an importance step in the quality control of these data. The purpose of this field test was to evaluate the performance of four XBT systems under field conditions. The systems evaluated were a SEAS I11 (Sippican's MK-9), a Bathy Systems' 810 XBT Controller, an ARGOS XBT system, and Oregon State University's (OSU) XBT Data Box.