ITPs do what humans cannot—measure Arctic Ocean conditions 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, under the ice and through seasons of complete darkness. Developed by physical oceanographer John Toole and WHOI engineers, the ITP system consists of a yellow surface buoy that sits on an ice floe, a urethane-coated wire (attached to the buoy) ending with a weight to keep the wire vertical, and the cylindrical profiler. The profiler cycles along the wire, carrying oceanographic sensors through the water column. Data on water properties are telemetered to shore in near-real time and available on the ITP Web site. (Illustration by Jayne Doucette, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
|
