List of instruments

ID Instrument Acronym Description
86 Aanderaa Recording Current Meters RCM RCM "is a self-contained instrument that can be moored in the sea and record ocean current, water temperature, conductivity of the water and instrument depth" (http://www.icsm.gov.au/tides/SP9/links/AanderaaRCM7.html).
104 Aanderaa Tide Gauge TG "A tide gauge is an instrument for measuring and recording the time and height of the sea surface as it changes with the tides" (http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/tide/).
1 AC 9 AC-9 "The ac-9 simultaneously determines the spectral transmittance and spectral absorption of water over nine wavelengths. The unit offers compact size, high precision, and excellent stability in providing a method for determining the absorption (a(l)) and beam attenuation (c(l)) coefficients. The ac-9 employs a 25-cm pathlength for effective measurement of the cleanest natural waters. The unit is also available in a 10-cm pathlength configuration" (http://www.hydronav.com/images/Oceanographic/pdf/ac9ssd.pdf).
179 Accelerator Mass Spectrometer AMS Measures "long-lived radionuclides that occur naturally in our environment. AMS uses a particle accelerator in conjunction with ion sources, large magnets, and detectors to separate out interferences and count single atoms in the presence of 1x1015 (a thousand million million) stable atoms." AMS permits ultra low-level measurement of compound concentrations and isotope ratios that traditional alpha-spectrometry cannot provide. (http://www.physics.purdue.edu/primelab/introduction/ams.html)
2 Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler ADCP "The ADCP measures water currents with sound, using a principle of sound waves called the Doppler effect. A sound wave has a higher frequency, or pitch, when it moves to you than when it moves away. You hear the Doppler effect in action when a car speeds past with a characteristic building of sound that fades when the car passes. The ADCP works by transmitting "pings" of sound at a constant frequency into the water. (The pings are so highly pitched that humans and even dolphins can't hear them.) As the sound waves travel, they ricochet off particles suspended in the moving water, and reflect back to the instrument. Due to the Doppler effect, sound waves bounced back from a particle moving away from the profiler have a slightly lowered frequency when they return. Particles moving toward the instrument send back higher frequency waves. The difference in frequency between the waves the profiler sends out and the waves it receives is called the Doppler shift. The instrument uses this shift to calculate how fast the particle and the water around it are moving. Sound waves that hit particles far from the profiler take longer to come back than waves that strike close by. By measuring the time it takes for the waves to bounce back and the Doppler shift, the profiler can measure current speed at many different depths with each series of pings" (http://www.whoi.edu/instruments/viewInstrument.do?id=819).
3 Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler bio ADCP-bio Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler used to scan for plankton concentrations.
87 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer AVHRR "The AVHRR instrument consists of an array of small sensors that record (as digital numbers) the amount of visible and infrared radiation reflected and (or) emitted from the Earth's surface" (http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/mapping/a_avhrr.html).
181 Aggregate Camera A type of camera.
89 Altimeters Gridded surface height fields from altimeters.
136 Amber Bottle Amber glass bottle.
114 Anemometer An anemometer is a device for measuring the velocity or the pressure of the wind. It is commonly used to measure wind speed.
4 Automatic Weather Station AWS The AWS is "designed to record meteorological information" (http://amrc.ssec.wisc.edu/).
115 Barometer A barometer is an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure.
5 Big Eye Binoculars Big eye binoculars generally used for mammal observations
6 BIo-Optical Multi-frequency Acoustical and Physical Environmental Recorder BIOMAPER "BIOMAPER is a set of sensors on a long aluminum frame that resembles the tail of a World War II airplane. A research vessel tows the instrument through the water on a specialized tow cable that sends power to the sensors and brings data back to the ship. People use BIOMAPER to learn about phytoplankton and zooplankton over areas that are too large to study with the traditional net-and-microscope method. Whereas nets can sample areas up to about 5 meters (16 feet) on a side, BIOMAPER can record data from 500 meters (1,640 feet) or more of the water column at a time. The instrument’s standard suite of sensors were chosen for studying plankton: a five-frequency sonar system, a video plankton recorder and an environmental sensor system (ESS, like the one on MOCNESS). The ESS measures water temperature, salinity, oxygen, chlorophyll and light levels. BIOMAPER also has room for attaching other instruments for specific uses. The instrument's official name is BIOMAPER-II: the BIo-Optical Multi-frequency Acoustical and Physical Environmental Recorder. The Roman numeral II indicates that it's a redesign of the original BIOMAPER, a prototype that was invented and tested in the mid 1990s" (http://www.whoi.edu/instruments/viewInstrument.do?id=12014).
7 BIo-Optical Multi-frequency Acoustical and Physical Environmental Recorder II BIOMAPERII A redesign of the original BIOMAPER.
145 Bio-Optical Profiling System BOPS Optical data was collected with a Bio-Optical Profiling System (BOPS) an updated version of the BOPS originally developed by Smith et al. (1984). The heart of the BOPS is a Biospherical instruments MER-1048 Spectroradiometer which measures up and downwelling spectral irradiance and upwelling spectral radiance. The MER-1048 also has sensors for Photosynthetically Available Radiation (PAR), depth, tilt and roll. In addition, temperature and conductivity are measured with a Sea-Bird CTD, chlorophyll fluorescence is measured with a Sea Tech fluorometer and bean transmission with a Sea Tech 25-cm transmissometer. The Mer-1048 acquires all the data 16 times a second, averages it to four records a second and sends it up the cable to a deck box and a Compaq-286 computer which stores the data on the hard disk. Additionally, a deck cell measures the downwelling surface irradiance in four spectral channels. Also surface PAR was measured continuously using a Biospherical Instruments QSR-240 Integrating PAR sensor. The profile data was filtered to remove obvious data spikes and then binned into one-meter averages.
8 Bongo Nets 60 cm diameter Bongo nets (335 millimeter mesh). Bongo "is a sophisticated sampling device that is capable of multiple unit, simultaneous sampling at mid-ocean depths as well as a reliable single unit tow platform for use in shallow water sampling. One of the unique features of the Bongo system is its opening and closing mechanism that allows discrete "known-depth" sampling. The system has no frontal obstructions to frighten, disturb, or damage the catch and is large enough to filter water at the rate of 47.5m3/minute when towing at a speed of two knots" (http://www.oceaninstruments.com/products/net_systems/bongo.html).
9 BongoSB A Bongo net tow with a Sea Bird CTD.
178 Box Corer This is one of the simplest and most commonly used sediment corers. The stainless steel sampling box can contain a surface sediment block as large as 50cm X 50cm X 75cm with negligible disturbance. Once the sediment is recovered onboard, the sediment box can be detached from the frame and taken to a laboratory for subsampling and further analysis.The core sample size is controlled by the speed at which the corer is lowered into the ocean bottom. When the bottom is firm, a higher speed is required to obtain a complete sample. A depth pinger or other depth indicator is generally used to determine when the box is completely filled with sediment. Once the core box is filled with sediment, the sample is secured by moving the spade-closing lever arm to lower the cutting edge of the spade into the sediment, until the spade completely covers the bottom of the sediment box" (http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=8415&tid=282&cid=11255).
14 CalVet CalCOFI Vertical Egg Tow; vertical net tows, mesh sizes may vary
171 Camera 35mm camera
15 Chamber Larval fish environmental chamber, a specially designed nitex mesh enclosed chamber tethered below a drifter
156 CO2 Coulometer The CO2 coulometer "semi-automatically controls the sample handling and extraction of CO2 from seawater samples" (http://www.bios.edu/Labs/co2lab/research/CO2_instrumentation.html).
17 Coastal Ocean Lagrangian Float COOL Measures compass angle, pressure, and temperature. "The COOL float is constructed from a glass pipe 2.2 m long and with an outer diameter of 9.5 cm. The float consists of the glass pipe, electronics, a volume changer (VOCHA) located within the float, vanes and a compass, a pinger and either a compressee or drop weight. The COOL float is based on the previously designed isopycnal f/h float (Rossby et al., 1994). Glass was used since it has a very small thermal expansion coefficient. Thus, the float will remain on the same density surface even if the temperature and salinity of the water changes but its density doesn't. If a water parcel is displaced vertically, it will either expand or compress due to the change in pressure and not change its potential density. Since the glass float is less compressible than seawater, it will not follow this water parcel. Therefore, a compressee is added to the float to match the float's compressibility to that of seawater. The COOL float has a volume changer (VOCHA) in it to allow the float to follow a water parcel whose density is changing. However, in our short test deployments, we only used the VOCHA for calibration purposes (described later). Eight vanes at a angle to the horizontal and a compass were added to the isopycnal f/h to make the COOL float. As water flows vertically past the float, the vanes will make the float rotate. Measuring the rotation rate with a compass inside the float will provide a measure of the vertical velocity past the float. If the float is isobaric (that is, the float will remain at a constant pressure; it does not have a compressee), the vertical velocity past the float will be mainly due to the vertical velocity of internal waves. However, vanes on the isopycnal COOL float will make it respond to diapycnal velocities instead of vertical velocities. That is, the float will measure only the amount of water flowing past the float whose density is changing" (http://www.po.gso.uri.edu/mixing/gso/reslink/homepage.html).
16 Cod Drifter Short-term drifter incubation deployment.
201 Condensation Particle Counter Measures the total condensation nucleus concentration
18 Conductivity, Temperature, Depth CTD CTD measures the conductivity, temperature, and depth of any given body of water. "The shipboard CTD is made up of a set of small probes attached to a large metal rosette wheel. The rosette is lowered on a cable down to the seafloor, and scientists observe the water properties in real time via a conducting cable connecting the CTD to a computer on the ship. A remotely operated device allows the water bottles to be closed selectively as the instrument ascends. A standard CTD cast, depending on water depth, requires two to five hours to collect a complete set of data.Water sampling is often done at specific depths so scientists can learn the physical properties of the water column are at that particular place and time" (http://www.whoi.edu/instruments/viewInstrument.do?id=1003).
19 CTD Bongo CTD CTD measurements taken during a Bongo tow.
132 CTD Bottle CTD CTD rosette bottle.
20 CTD Falmouth Scientific Instruments CTD CTD measurements taken by the Falmouth Scientific Instruments sensor.
22 CTD MOCNESS CTD CTD measurements taken during MOCNESS tow.
21 CTD Pump CTD CTD equipped with a water pumping system for zooplankton sampling.
23 CTD Seabird 19 CTD CTD measurements taken by a SBE19 (SeaBird Seacat) CTD package.
24 CTD Seabird 25 CTD CTD measurements taken by a SBE25 (Seabird) CTD instrument package.
123 CTD Seabird 9 CTD CTD measurements taken by a SBE9 (SeaBird) CTD package.
25 CTD Seabird 911 CTD CTD measurements taken by a SBE911 (SeaBird) CTD instrument package.
210 CTD Seabird SBE 43 CTD SBE 43
26 CTD Seacat CTD CTD measurements taken by Seabird Seacat CTD instrument package.
27 CTD SeaSoar CTD CTD measurements taken during a SeaSoar tow.
205 CTD/Fluorometer Instrument for logging Temperature and Fluorescence
28 Diaphragm pump Pumps fluid.
122 Digital Data Digital data.
29 Drifter Buoy BDFT Drifter buoy to include the Beardsley Drifter.
30 Dye Dye injection and detection, using Fluorescein for example
120 Echo Sounder "Essentially, an echo sounder is a device that transmits and receives sound, accurately measuring the time it takes to leave the sounder, reach the bottom and return to the sounder. It then converts this information into digital or graphic representations of the bottom depth and relief. The average echo sounder consists of a transmission and reception unit that sends sound signals through the water, receives and decodes information and converts that information into either a graphic or visual form. Attached to the receiver is a transducer that acts as a microphone and a speaker under the water. Sound waves travel at approximately 1500 m/s through the water dependent on water temperature" (http://www.lmstechnologies.com/echo_sounder.htm).
192 Electronic Jig Machine Used to catch fish with rod and reel.
32 Environmental Sensing System ESS Environmental Sensing System (an expanded CTD package) attached to the BiomaperII towed vehicle. ESS measures many environmental conditions including ambient temperature, pressure, and humidity.
81 Environmental Sensing System ESS Environmental Sensing System (an expanded CTD package) attached to the VPR towed vehicle. ESS measures many environmental conditions including ambient temperature, pressure, and humidity.
166 Eppley Longwave Radiometer ELR Eppley longwave radiometer measures long-wave radiation.
31 EPSONDE EPSONDE "EPSONDE is a tethered free-fall profiling system used to obtain temperature microstructure and velocity turbulence data to a depth of at least 1500 m. EPSONDE, which carries a variety of slow and fast sensors, is deployed on a loose kevlar multiconductor cable by a specialized wire-handling system. Data are transmitted from this underwater unit (1792 samples per second) to a shipboard system which includes a dedicated microcomputer for data logging and online data processing" (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fiel1%2F48%2F37%2F00000566.pdf&authDecision=-203).
204 Equilibrator
202 Expendable Bathy Thermograph XBT Expendable depth temperature probe
153 Expendable Bathythermograph/Expendable Sound Velocimeter XBT/XSV Expendable Bathythermograph/Expendable Sound Velocimeter(XBT/XSV). A standard XBT/XSV system consists of an expendable probe, a data processing/recording system, and a launcher. An electrical connection between the probe and the processor/recorder is made when the canister containing the probe is placed within the launcher and the launcher breech door is closed.
35 Fast Repetion Rate Fluorometer FRRF Used "for measuring fluorescence of a sample of phytoplankton" (http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5426306/claims.html).
193 Fish Cage Used to catch fish.
191 Fishing Rod Used to catch fish.
33 FLDFT FLDFT Drifter Grazing Experiment (grazing rates of cod larvae).
34 FLLGT FLLGT Drifter Grazing Experiment (grazing rates of cod larvae at various light levels)
174 Floating Sediment Trap FST Traps floating sediment.
175 Flounder Trap Used to trap flounder.
157 Fluorescence Microscope Image Analysis System FMIAS
118 Fluorometer A fluorometer or fluorimeter is a device used to measure parameters of fluorescence: its intensity and wavelength distribution of emission spectrum after excitation by a certain spectrum of light.
98 Gillnet A net used to tangle or snare fishes.
133 Glass Fiber Filter GFF GFF is used to collect particulate matter.
10 Go-flo Bottle Go-flo bottle cast used to collect water samples for pigment, nutrient, plankton, etc.
185 Gravity Corer GC The gravity corer allows researchers to sample and study sediment layers at the bottom of lakes or oceans. It got its name because gravity carries it to the bottom of the water body. Recovering sediment cores allows scientists to see the presence or absence of specific fossils in the mud that may indicate climate patterns at times in the past, such as during the ice ages. Scientists can then use this information to improve understanding of the climate system and predict patterns and events in the future. Cores capture a time capsule that, in some cases, can span the past hundreds of thousands and even millions of years. Because sedimentation rates in some areas are quite slow, even a smaller corer a few meters in length may represent thousands of years of particles. These particles are a historical record of condition in the water column and in the atmosphere and can be used to reconstruct past conditions on Earth" (http://www.whoi.edu/instruments/viewInstrument.do?id=1079).
36 Greene Bomber "The Greene Bomber is a V-fin towed body equipped with a dual frequency (120 and 420 khz) down- looking echosounding" (http://globec.whoi.edu/globec-dir/reports/NAGL9801A/NAGL98_01A_pt1.pdf).
212 Hand-net Hand-held plankton net
37 Handheld Binoculars Handheld binoculars, generally used for bird observations.
155 High Performance Liquid Chromatography HPLC "High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a form of liquid chromatography to separate compounds that are dissolved in solution. HPLC instruments consist of a reservoir of mobile phase, a pump, an injector, a separation column, and a detector. Compounds are separated by injecting a plug of the sample mixture onto the column. The different components in the mixture pass through the column at different rates due to differences in their partitioning behavior between the mobile liquid phase and the stationary phase" (http://www.files.chem.vt.edu/chem-ed/sep/lc/hplc.html).
119 Humidity Hygrometers are instruments used for measuring relative humidity and/or wet temperature
38 Hydroacoustic Technology Incorporated HTI 4-frequency bioacoustics towed instrument package. With HTI you can "track fish behavior with precise 3D position" (www.htisonar.com/).
214 ice profiler IPS
95 IceCoring This is the technique of drilling into deep masses of ice and removing long cylinders of ice from which information about the past and present can be inferred. Polar ice cores contain a record of the past atmosphere - temperature, precipitation, gas content, chemical composition, and other properties. This can reveal a broad spectrum of information on past environmental, and particularly climatic, changes. They can also be used to study bacteria and chlorophyll production in the water that freezes into ice.
165 Improved Meteorological Recorder IMET Used for recording weather conditions.
137 Incubator On-deck incubators.
184 Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry ICP-MS "ICP MS is an efficient and highly sensitive tool for target-element orientated discoveries of relevant and unknown compounds" (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/114201969/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0).
182 Intelligent Operative Net Sampling System IONESS Gathers samples.
163 IRS Sediment Trap IRS Traps sediment. IRS valved sediment trap design is described in Peterson et al. 1993. Field evaluation of a valved sediment trap. Limnology and Oceanography, 38, 1741-1761
39 JelNet Net system designed to quantify fragile zooplankton, used during the 1999 broad-scale cruises. Replaces the Reeve net.
40 JelNet2 Net system designed to quantify fragile zooplankton, used during the 1999 broad-scale cruises. Replaces the JelNet net. It consists of a Bongo frame with a pair of 1mm mesh nets.
11 Kimmerer Bottle Used in GLOBEC as a surface (2m) water sampler.
194 Langdon Oyxgen Titrator LOT O2 titrator.
124 Large Aggregate Profiling System LAPS Camera systems have been developed to characterize millimeter size particle distributions in the water column. Camera systems integrated with a CTD and transmissometer (such as the Walsh/Gardner Large Aggregate Profiling System (LAPS)) have the advantage of simultaneously collecting data on the distribution of suspended particles and aggregates along with the physical structure of the water column.
161 Large Volume Pumping System LVP An LVP pump is a type of Large Volume in-situ Filtration System deployed to collect sinking particulates. These are individual in situ pumping/filtration (battery-powered from McLane Labs) units that can be deployed at multiple depths per cast to provide information on how particle flux changes with depth.
203 Licor 6262 analyser
199 LiCor LI-1000 Data Logger "The LiCor Li1000 Data logger combines the best features of a simple meter and a datalogger in one instrument. The instrument is splash proof. A variety of sensors can be used with the LI-1000 including LI-COR radiation sensors, air and soil temperature sensors, and many meteorological sensors. The logger has 10 channels. The flexibility of the software allows it to be operated as either a simple meter or as a datalogger. The output of a given sensor can be viewed on the LCD display or stored in memory by simply pressing the ENTER key on the keypad" (http://www.eoc.csiro.au/instrument/html/marine/licor1000.htm).
198 LiCor LI-190SA Cosine Collector LiCor LI-190SA cosine collector for measuring PAR
108 LiCor Scalar Photosynthetically Active Radiation Sensor LSPARS Detects radiation.
113 LiCor Spherical Photosynthetically Active Radiation Sensor LSPQAPAR Detects radiation.
42 LiCor Underwater Spectrial Quantum Sensor LUSQS LiCor underwater spectrial quantum sensor (light profile)
138 Light Detection and Ranging System LIDAR The Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system is a laser sounder located on the Lander deck. It is composed of a sensor and electronics assembly. The LIDAR transmitter uses a Galium-Aluminum-Arsenic laser which emits energy in pulses at a constant rate and wavelength. The LIDAR has two sounding modes: active and acoustic.
216 Light Intensity Sensor Used for measuring PAR
43 LiveNet Net towed for collecting animals for live animal experiments (net diameter and mesh size will vary).
195 Lobster Trap Lobster trap.
190 Long Line Fishing Gear Long line fishing gear.
152 LongTrack Profiler LTP LongTrack Profiler that used the ship's SAIL-loop acquisition system with SeaBird conductivity and temperature sesnsors; The LongTrack Profiler used the R/V Endeavor's IEEE standard serial ASCII instrumentation loop (SAIL) shipboard data communication system to record data from SeaBird conductivity and temperature sesnsors; The serial ASCII Instrumentation Loop (SAIL) was a hardware and software protocol that was used for collecting data from a variety of instruments aboard the research vessel.
134 Low Density Polyethylene Bottle LDPE Used to store samples.
149 Mechanical Flowmeter Manufactured by General Oceanics. Used in rivers, estuaries, canals, sewer outfalls, pipes, and harbor entrances to determine velocity and distance information or use with plankton nets to determine water volume associated with each tow.
45 Meter Net Tow One meter diameter opening plankton net, towed horizontally, Use ZPN.
150 Meterorological Sensor MS Used to collect meteorological data.
111 MicroCat MicroCat
144 microscope A microscope is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye.
46 MicroSoar measures turbulent microstructure using robust, fast-response temperature and conductivity probes. See T. Dillon, et al., 1999: MicroSoar: A new in strument for measuring microscale turbulence from rapidly moving submerged platforms, J. Atmos. Ocean. Techn. (submitted)]
100 Midwater Trawl midwater trawl
47 MkIIICTD MkIIICTD Measures salinity of sea water.
48 MkVCTD MkVCTD Used to measure conductivity, temperature, and depth of sea water.
160 MOCNESS MOCNESS Unknown kind of MOCNESS net.
49 MOCNESS.25 MOC.25 "The instrument packages at the top collect information about the water (such as temperature, salinity, depth, and chlorophyll) and send it up the tow wire to computers on board. In this schematic, the eight nets at the bottom have all collected samples at various depths and are now closed; the top net is sampling the shallowest depths on its way back to the surface. The "buckets" on the ends of the nets are PVC collectors which hold the samples after the nets have filtered plankton from the water. When the MOCNESS is retrieved on board, the collectors are each handled separately for sorting and preserving" (http://207.56.201.131/onlocation/mocness.html).
50 MOCNESS1 MOC1 "The instrument packages at the top collect information about the water (such as temperature, salinity, depth, and chlorophyll) and send it up the tow wire to computers on board. In this schematic, the eight nets at the bottom have all collected samples at various depths and are now closed; the top net is sampling the shallowest depths on its way back to the surface. The "buckets" on the ends of the nets are PVC collectors which hold the samples after the nets have filtered plankton from the water. When the MOCNESS is retrieved on board, the collectors are each handled separately for sorting and preserving" (http://207.56.201.131/onlocation/mocness.html).
51 MOCNESS10 MOC10 The MOCNESS is based on the Tucker Trawl principle (Tucker, 1951). The MOCNESS-10 (with 10 m2 nets)carries 6 nets of 3.0-mm circular mesh which are opened and closed sequentially by commands through conducting cable from the surface (Wiebe et al., 1976).

In this system, "the underwater unit sends a data frame, comprised of temperature, depth, conductivity, net-frame angle, flow count, time, number of open net, and net opening/closing, to the deck unit in a compressed hexadecimal format every 2 seconds and from the deck unit to a microcomputer every 4 seconds." (Wiebe et al., 1985)

44 Moored Current Meter Measures speed and direction of currents.
53 Moored Video Plankton Recorder MVPR "The VPR is a video-microscope system used for imaging plankton and other particulate matter in the size range from a few micrometers to several centimeters. It consists of four video cameras (with magnifying optics) synchronized at 60 fields per second (fps) to a red-filtered 80 W xenon strobe (pulse duration = 1 microsecond). The current lens on each camera can be adjusted to provide a field of view between 5 mm and 10 cm. Use of higher magnification lenses is currently being explored for viewing protozoans (<1 µm resolution). The four cameras are set for concentric viewing fields so that a range of up to four magnifications can be viewed simultaneously, allowing a wide size range of plankton to be sampled. Depth of field is adjusted by the lens aperture setting, and the volume sampled in each video field ranges from about 1 ml to 1 liter, depending on lens settings. The cameras have been configured for stereoscopic viewing as well" (http://www.usglobec.org/newsletter/news3/news3.vpr.html).
52 Mooring Mooring
213 Motoda Net XX13 MTD XX13

Motoda Net (Motoda, 1971). XX13 indicates a mesh size of 100 microns. This is a "messenger based net system which utilized a framework attached to the towing wire. The circular net (56 cm diameter) was a cylinder (80 cm length)/cone (110 cm length) and was mounted on a wire with a triangular framework so that up to 10 could be towed simultaneously."(P.H. Wiebe and M.C. Benfield, 2003. Progress in Oceanography 56: p.25)

Motoda, S. (1971). Devices of simple plankton apparatus V. Bulletin of the Faculty of Fisheries Hokkaido University, 22, 101-106.
186 Multi Corer Multi Corer "Delivers undisturbed sediment/ water samples" (http://marineops.mlml.calstate.edu/PS-MultiCore).
158 Multi Unit Large Volume Filtration System MULVFS Filters sea water/specimens.
154 Multi-Variate Moored Systems MVMS Multi-Variate Moored Systems
121 Multibeam Multibeam system was used to measure the bathymetry data
54 Neal Brown CTD CTD See Mk III CTD.
94 Neil Brown CTD with TAPS NBCTD/TAPS Neil Brown CTD with TAPS.
196 Nets various types
92 Neuston neuston net tows
55 Niskin Niskin bottle cast.
12 Niskin Bottle NB Niskin bottle cast used to collect water samples for pigment, nutrient, plankton, etc.
99 Nordic 264 Rope Trawl A trawl that is towed at the surface.
211 Norpac XX13 Plankton net with a 45 cm opening diam. fitted with netting (mesh size, 0.095 mm)made of course bolting silk.
151 Particle Interceptor Particle interceptor used to catch small solids.
208 Particle Interceptor Trap PIT Particle Interceptor Trap used to quantify the gravitational flux of particulate material from the surface ocean
56 Photosynthetically Available Radiation Sensors PARS Measures photosynthetically available radiation.
58 Phytoplankton Net Haul PPN Collects phytoplankton.
169 Piston Corer "The piston corer is a long, heavy tube plunged into the seafloor to extract samples of mud sediment. A piston inside the tube allows scientists to capture the longest possible samples, up to 90 feet in length" (http://www.whoi.edu/instruments/viewInstrument.do?id=8087).
176 Plankton Tow A net used to catch plankton.
130 Polycarbonate Bottle
126 Polyethylene Bottle Used to maintain seawater samples.
57 Precision Depth Recorder PDR "[A] precision depth recorder is used to find depth by sending a sound signal through the water to the bottom. The length of time needed for the signal to reach the bottom and echo back to the ship is related to depth. Deeper water is associated with longer wait time; a shallow depth is associated with a short wait time. A recorder can trace a continuous profile of an area over which the ship is sailing. Type of bottom sediment can also be determined by this method" (www.hamburgschools.org/).
117 Precision Infrared Radiometer The Precision Infrared Radiometer, Pyrgeometer, is intended for unidirectional operation in the measurement, separately, of incoming or outgoing terrestrial radiation as distinct from net long-wave flux.
116 Precision Spectral Pyranometer The Precision Spectral Pyranometer is a World Meteorological Organization First Class Radiometer designed for the measurement of sun and sky radiation, totally or in defined broad wavelength bands.
59 Pump Gas-powered centrifugal water pump (may also be called Z PP or Zoo_Pump)
139 Pump Air Sampler PAS HiVol pump air sample. Used for air sampling and analysis.
60 Pump2 Air-powered, double diaphragm water pump
61 Pump3 Gas-powered, single diaphragm water pump
188 Pump4 WTS-LV McLane WTS-LV Large Volume, High Accuracy, Oceanographic Sampling Pump
189 Pump5 Ship's clean water intake pump (surface sample)
146 QSR-240 QSR-240 Biospherical Instruments QSR-240 Integrating PAR sensor
141 Quartz Bottle Used to store samples.
209 Quick Scatterometer QuikSCAT A specialized microwave radar that measures near-surface wind speed and direction under all weather and cloud conditions over Earth's oceans
62 Radiometer A generic term for a range of instruments used to measure radiance and irradiance i.e. free-fall spectral radiometer (SPMR/SMSR System, Satlantic, Inc); profiling and deck cosine PAR units (PUV-500 and 510, Biospherical Instruments, Inc)
63 Reeve Reeve Net system designed to collect fragile zooplankton
65 Remotely Operated Vehicle ROV
64 RingNet see ZPN
105 Rotronics Rotronics used to measure Air Temperature
148 S4 Current Meter The S4 current meter is a truly unique instrument for water current sensing. The instrument itself is the self-contained current measuring sensor.
66 SBcal Sea Bird calibration cast consisting of a verticle cast with one 1.7l Niskin bottle above the profiler lowered to 20-30m where the bottle is then closed.
215 SBE 26 SeaGauge SG SeaBird Electronics wave and tide recorder
106 SBE-3 SBE-3 SBE-3 Temperature
107 SBE-4 SBE-4 SBE-4 Conductivity
67 SBE_26 SBE_26 Sea Bird bottom pressure recorder measuring temperature, pressure and conductivity (salinity)
68 Scanfish The Scanfish "is a towed undulating vehicle system designed for collecting 3D profile data of the water column" provided by the University of Rhode Island (www.eiva.dk/sw350.asp).
88 Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor SeaWiFS "The purpose of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project is to provide quantitative data on global ocean bio-optical properties to the Earth science community. Subtle changes in ocean color signify various types and quantities of marine phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants), the knowledge of which has both scientific and practical applications. The SeaWiFS Project will develop and operate a research data system that will process, calibrate, validate, archive and distribute data received from an Earth-orbiting ocean color sensor. A detailed description of the objectives, organization and operations as well as the current status of the SeaWiFS Project is available" (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/SeaWiFS/BACKGROUND/SEAWIFS_BACKGROUND.html).
69 SeabirdCTD Sea Bird CTD, no specific unit identified. See also other SeaBird instruments listed under CTD_
112 SEACAT SEACAT SEACAT
70 SeaSoar Towed, undulating vehicle usually equipped with a VPR, TAPS, PAR, CTD
110 SeaTech Fluorometer Sea Tech chlorophyll-a fluorometer
109 SeaTech Transmissometer Sea Tech 25-cm path-length transmissometer
167 Sediment Trap Sediment trap
162 Self-Contained Underwater Fluorescence Apparatus SCUFA The Self-Contained Underwater Fluorescence Apparatus (SCUFA) is a type of Submersible Fluorometer available from Turner Designs (SCUFA brochure).
71 Slow Drop Free fall profiler for conductivity, temperature, depth, and bio-optics.
125 SNOY CCD V801 SNOY CCD V801 a Deep-Sea Power and Light AVCS-101 Autonomous Video Camera
96 Sonobuoy relatively small (typically 4? inches, or 124 mm, in diameter and 36 inches, or 910 mm, long) expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic research.
140 Spectrometer A spectrometer is an optical instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials.
128 Spectroradiometer Spectroradiometers, (aka - spectraradiometer) which operate almost like the visible region spectrophotometers are designed to measure the spectral power distributions of illuminants in order to evaluate and categorize lighting for sales by the manufacturer or for the customers to confirm the lamp they decided to purchase is within their specifications.
90 Standard Vector Measuring Current Meter VMCM The VMCM is a "reliable [instrument] for obtaining quality ocean current data from moorings for scientific studies" (http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1175%2F1520-0426(2000)017%3C0561%3AAIOCMU%3E2.0.CO%3B2&ct=1).
129 Surface Incident Irradiance Detector
72 SurfSample surface bucket water sample
75 Tethered Spectral Radiometer Buoy TSRB Tethered Spectral Radiometer Buoy with optics package
159 Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry TIMS "A TIMS is an instrument that measures isotopic ratios that are used in geochemistry, geochronology, and cosmochemistry" (http://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/geochemsheets/techniques/TIMS.html).
142 Thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient, using a variety of different principles.
103 Thermosalinograph Thermosalinograph used to obtain a continuous record of sea surface temperature and salinity.
207 TM Pump Towed A towed pumping system for the collection of trace metal clean surface seawater
200 TM Rosette TM Rosette A rosette system for the collection of trace metal clean seawater
131 Trace Metal Bottle TM Bottle Trace metal (TM) clean rosette bottle.
187 Trace Metal GoFlo TM GoFlo GoFlo bottles sampling for trace metal.
73 TRACOR Acoustic Profiling System TAPS Zooplankton sampler.
173 Traction Winch
143 Transducer A transducer is a device, usually electrical, electronic, electro-mechanical, electromagnetic, photonic, or photovoltaic that converts one type of energy to another for various purposes including measurement or information transfer (for example, pressure sensors).
127 Transmissometer A transmissometer is an instrument for measuring the extinction coefficient of the atmosphere, and for the determination of visual range.
172 Trawl
74 Triaxus Towed vehicle collecting: temp, salinity.
76 Tucker Trawl Net tow with one or more remotely controlled opening and closing nets.
97 Turner Design Digital 10-AU-05 Fluorometer Turner Design Digital 10-AU-05 fluorometer used to measure Chlorophyll fluorescence data.
101 Turner Model 10 Fluorometer Turner Model 10 fluorometer.
77 Ultra-Violet UV Ultra-violet light (narrow band channels 308, 320, 340, 380 nm), possible instrument used PUV-500 radiometer
206 Undulator Torpedo-style fish for the collection of underway water samples.
Designed to undulate through a depth profile as its towed.
135 University of Washington Bottle University of Washington bottles on the "Monster rosette."
13 Van Veen Grab Sampler VVGS "The Van Veen grab is a lightweight sampler designed to take large samples in soft bottoms. Its long lever arms and the sharp cutting edges on the bottom of the scoops, enable it to cut deeply into the softer bottoms" (http://www.rickly.com/as/bottomgrab.htm).
91 Vector Averaging Current Meter VACM Vector Averaging Current Meter
164 Vector-Averaging Wind Recorder VAWR VAWR is a "system for surface meteorological measurements" (http://openlibrary.org/b/OL18220736M/vector-averaging-wind-recorder-(VWAR)-system-for-surface-meteorological-measurements-in-CODE-(Coastal-Ocean-Dynamics-Experiment)).
197 Vertical Multi-layer Plankton Sampler VMPS
80 Vertical Plankton Tow VPT A vertical plankton tow (diameter and mesh size will vary).
102 VG Prism II Mass-Spectrometer
79 Video Plankton Recorder VPR Video Plankton Recorder, a towed vehicle
The WHOI Ocean Instruments Web site has a general description of the VPR.
78 Volume Backscattering VBS
183 Woods Hole Interstitial Marine Probe WHIMP "Much like a syringe, it extracts water samples at various depths, ranging from less than an inch to two feet. We called it the Woods Hole Interstitial Marine Probe, or WHIMP" (http://as11499.http.sasm3.net/page.do?pid=14957&tid=282&cid=46306).
82 Zoo Pump Water pumping system for zooplankton sampling
84 Zooplankton Gas Powered Centrifugal Pump ZPP
83 Zooplankton Net ZPN Zooplankton net, also used for collecting live zooplankton for ship board experiments (aka 'Ring net').
85 Zooplankton Pump ZPP/CTD/TAPS Zooplankton pump on CTD with TAPS.
93 Zooplankton Pump on the Neil Brown CTD ZPP/NBCTD Zooplankton pump on the Neil Brown CTD