Science & Ship Equipment

CTD & MET/Underway Sensors

System:

SBE9+ CTD/ 11+ Deckbox
Rosette frame with SBE32 24-position carousel
10 L Niskin bottles, 24 total

Sensors:

SBE3 (Temperature) and SBE4 (Conductivity) x2
SBE5 pumps x2
SBE43 (Oxygen) x1
VA500 (Valeport Altimeter) x1
SBE/Wetlabs FLNTURTD (Chlorophyll/Turbidity) x1
SBE/Wetlabs C-star 25cm Transmissometer x1
Biospherical QSP200L4S PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation), limited to 2000 m depth, x1

If you are planning a cruise where alternate CTD sensor configurations/ sensor additions are required, please contact the R/V Science Coordinator as soon as possible after completing the MFP Cruise Questionnaire.

MET Sensors

The forward mast aboard the R/V Neil Armstrong houses many instruments, including the underway meteorological sensors. These include sensors for: air temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity, wind speed & direction and short & long wave solar radiation.

Sensors:

Vaisala WXT20/30 (temperature, pressure, humidity, precipitation, wind) x2
Eppley PSP (short wave radiation) x1
Eppley PIR (long wave radiation) x1

Science Underway Seawater System

While underway, the Armstrong runs a pump to provide sea water into the laboratory spaces around the main deck. This can either be a centrifugal pump, or a diaphragm pump, depending on the needs of the science party. Plumbed into the system is an array of sensors to continuously sample for the duration of the cruise. These sensors are located in the Wet Lab.

Sensors:

SBE48 (Hull temperature) x1
- This sensor is mounted magnetically to the hull on the inboard side, below the water-line to continuously measure the sea water temperature.
SBE45 (Thermosalinograph) x1
- The thermosalinograph (TSG) continuously measures surface temperature and salinity along the track of the ship using the underway seawater supply system.
WETStar Fluorometer x1
- The fluorometer provides chlorophyll-a which is an important indicator of active phytoplankton biomass and chlorophyll concentrations, and also provides coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM).
C-Star Transmissometer (25 cm) x1 and C-Star Transmissometer (10 cm) x1
- The transmissometers measure beam transmittance, or how much light passes through the liquid the instruments are sampling.

pCO₂ System (partial pressure of CO₂)

The General Oceanics pCO₂ 8050 System autonomously takes measurements of surface seawater, logging the partial pressure of carbon dioxide, which is the amount of dissolved CO₂ gas in solution. This instrument is primarily used to track changes in ocean acidity over time and is run each cruise along with the other science underway seawater system sensors. The unit is comprised of the dry box, which houses electronics and an infrared CO₂ detector, and the wet box, which houses an air-water equilibrator, pumps, and a dry-down system. Additional specifications:

LI-COR LI-7000 infrared CO₂ detector
Fluke 1523 reference thermometer
Suite of certified CO₂ standards for calibration every 3-6 h
Above-deck atmospheric measurements every 3-6 h

Related info from the General Oceanics listing for the 8060 model (8050 is discontinued).

Acoustic Systems

EM124 Kongsberg Multibeam

The EM124 12 kHz system is designed to perform seabed mapping to full ocean depth, with full resolution, coverage, and accuracy. Some details of the system installed on Armstrong:

Swath width from 2 to 6 times water depth. In typical 3 to 4 km depths, a swath width of 3.5 times depth can be expected.
Full 1° x 1° transmit and receive array.
Up to 432 soundings per swath in single ping mode, up 864 soundings in dual ping mode.
Can use both CW and FM outgoing pulses.
Capability to record water column data.
.KMall format datagrams
A fully integrated display system, with 2D and 3D viewing, route planning, system diagnostics, etc.

Visit the Kongsberg website to learn more. Color printers and large-format plotters are also available.

EM712 Kongsberg Multibeam

The EM712 system is designed to perform shallow seabed mapping, with full resolution, coverage, and accuracy. Some details of the system installed on Armstrong:

Depth: Up to 3600m
Swath width 5.5 times water depth.
Frequency range: 40-100kHz
Can use both CW and FM outgoing pulses.
Capability to record water column data.
.KMall format datagrams

Visit the Kongsberg website to learn more. Color printers and large-format plotters are also available.

EK80 Array

EM SBP-29 Sub-Bottom Profiler

The EM SBP system is designed for high-quality sub-bottom profiling. The system "borrows" the Tx/Rx array from the EM124 and uses it to create sub-bottom signal, which is then processed in the EM SBP software. Some details of the system installed on Armstrong:

User selectable pinging sequence
Simultaneous primary and parametric sub-bottom imaging
SEG-Y format recording
2 to 9 kHz frequency range
3° System with 96 transmit transducer elements
Full ocean depth (10,000 m)

Visit the Kongsberg website to learn more. Color printers and large-format plotters are also available.

Knudsen 3.5 & 12 kHz Sub-Bottom Profiler

38, 150 & 300 kHz ADCPs (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler)

Armstrong's ADCP transducers can create profiles of the ocean's currents beneath the ship at various depth ranges.

The OS38 has a range of 0-1000 m

The OS150 has a range of 0-400 m

Visit the Teledyne site to learn more specifics about the Ocean Surveyor ADCP.

The WH300 has a range of 0-200 m

Visit the Teledyne site to learn more specifics about the Workhorse II Mariner ADCP.

Also visit this page to learn more about ADCP's from WHOI!

Sonardyne USBL System

Operating the Ranger2 software for tracking beacons in the water, this system involves a single transducer mounted to a retractable pole beneath the ship, and is the primary way of tracking the objects and vehicles used frequently aboard Armstrong (ie. the CTD or trawls and Jason or Sentry).
Portable beacons are attached to objects deployed by the ship, and are then able to be tracked (depth, range, bearing, speed).
Learn more about the Ranger2 suite from Sonardyne's site.

If planning a cruise and the need for USBL beacons is known, please reach out to the R/V Science Coordinator immediately after completing the MFP cruise form to reserve them.

Other Science/Ship Systems

XBT (Expendable Bathythermograph)

Sippican MK 21 XBTs:

The MK-21/ISA Bathythermograph Data Acquisition System is a portable data acquisition system that measures and outputs ocean temperature, conductivity and sound velocity versus depth using expendable probes that are launched from surface ships.
With the WinMK21 Data Acquisition and Post-Processing Software installed on the computer, profiles of temperature verses depth, sound velocity verses depth, and temperature and conductivity verses depth can be displayed.
XBT launches can take as little as 10 mins, and they create a quick and accurate profile that is then usually input into other science acquisition machines (ie. Multibeam or Sonardyne).
Manual Here.

Deionized Water System (MiliQ)

-80° Freezers

Walk-in Freezer and Refrigerator