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| Ice-Tethered Profilers | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ice-Tethered Profilers |
| Type | Oceanographic instrument |
Ice-Tethered Profilers are autonomous oceanographic instruments deployed through seasonal or multiyear Arctic sea ice to collect vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, and other oceanographic variables. They are used by institutions engaged in polar research such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Alfred Wegener Institute. Programmatic users include initiatives like the National Science Foundation polar programs, the International Arctic Science Committee, and national expeditions organized by United States Coast Guard and Polarstern-class research vessels.
Ice-Tethered Profilers operate where platforms such as Argo (oceanography), Gliders (oceanography), and Research vessels have limited access due to ice cover, supporting campaigns by agencies like European Space Agency, Canadian Ice Service, Norwegian Polar Institute, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, and Russian Academy of Sciences. They extend long-term observing networks initiated by programs including Global Ocean Observing System, International Arctic Buoy Programme, and Climate Research Initiative and complement satellite missions by NASA/CNES TOPEX/Poseidon, ICESat-2, and CryoSat.
Typical units comprise a profiler, a tether, an ice anchor, and surface instrumentation coordinated with platforms such as Autonomous underwater vehicle, Remotely operated vehicle, and Mooring (oceanography). The profiler contains sensors produced by manufacturers used by National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Applied Physics Laboratory teams, often including conductivity-temperature-depth sensors similar to those in Argo (oceanography) floats and oxygen sensors used by Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Surface modules house satellite modems compatible with Iridium (satellite constellation), GPS receivers from Trimble, power systems modeled after Deep Sea Power & Light designs, and telemetry stacks adopted by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) field programs. Structural materials draw on composites developed with input from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth College, and University of Cambridge engineering groups.
Deployments commonly occur from ice camps, research vessels such as USCGC Healy, RRS James Clark Ross, RV Polarstern, or aircraft operations coordinated with Canadian Forces. Ice anchors are emplaced using techniques refined by teams at Laval University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Alfred Wegener Institute during expeditions like International Polar Year and national campaigns supported by National Science Foundation. Once emplaced, profilers cycle vertically along the tether under control from mission teams at institutions including Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, then transmit data via satellites to data centers such as World Data Center for Glaciology and National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Collected variables include temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence, and optical backscatter, assimilated into data systems used by Copernicus Programme, Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment, and World Ocean Database. Data processing pipelines adopt standards from organizations like Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, and Climate and Forecast (CF) metadata convention groups, while quality control leverages algorithms implemented by University of Washington, Stanford University, and Plymouth Marine Laboratory teams. Processed profiles inform models run on computing resources such as National Center for Atmospheric Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
Ice-Tethered Profiler datasets contribute to studies of Arctic amplification investigated by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments, ice-ocean interactions examined by Polar Science Center researchers, and mesoscale processes analyzed by groups at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. They support ecosystem studies involving collaborators from University of Alaska Fairbanks, Marine Scotland Science, and Institute of Oceanology (Poland), and inform navigation and safety operations coordinated with Canadian Coast Guard, Norwegian Polar Institute, and United States Coast Guard. Applications include validation of remote sensing from MODIS, Sentinel-1, and SMOS missions, and assimilation into coupled models used by NOAA Global Forecast System and NEMO (ocean model).
Operational limitations include tether icing and biofouling documented in studies by University of Bergen and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, communication outages comparable to those faced by Argo (oceanography) programs, and logistical constraints similar to Arctic campaigns by Healy (icebreaker) and Polarstern. Funding and coordination challenges mirror those encountered by initiatives like International Arctic Science Committee and International Polar Year, while sensor drift and calibration issues require reference to standards maintained by National Institute of Standards and Technology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and British Antarctic Survey.
Concepts for tethered profiling trace to engineering efforts at institutions including Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and gained momentum during field programs associated with International Polar Year and Arctic research by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Alfred Wegener Institute. Early deployments influenced by collaborations with United States Coast Guard and researchers at University of Alaska Fairbanks evolved through technology transfers involving NASA, European Space Agency, and industrial partners such as Lockheed Martin and Thales Alenia Space.
Category:Oceanographic instruments