Deep Profiler Vertical Mooring V14

Components of the OOI cabled observatory deep water profilers

The RSN Deep Profiler (DP) system is designed to collect oceanographic data profiles in water depths of up to 3000m. The DP system includes a modified McLane Mooring Profiler (MMP) vehicle that uses a motor traction drive to profile from near the sea surface to the seafloor along a tensioned mooring cable with a subsurface float. The system's dock assembly near the seafloor includes an inductive battery-charging dock for the vehicle battery, an inductive communication system that provides communications during profiling, and a Wi-fi antenna that provides high-speed communications while in the charging dock. The dock electronics will connect to the RSN power and fiber-optic data network using ROV-mateable underwater connectors. (Illustration by Nick Michel-Hart, University of Washington)

APL/RSN engineers attaching the deep profiler vehicle to the mooring line during deployment at the Axial Base site. Photo Credit: Ed McNichol, Mumbian Enterprises, Inc.

APL/RSN engineer Eric Boget gently lowers the deep profiler package into the water during the mooring deployment. Photo Credit: Ed McNichol, Mumbian Enterprises, Inc.

ROPOS attaching a line to the flotation sphere at the top of the deep profiler mooring at Axial Base, prior to recovery to fix a connector problem. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive 1740, V14

A line attached from the top float of the Axial Base deep profiler mooring to the winch on ROPOS, prior to a recovery to diagnose and repair the mooring connector. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive 1740, V14

An action shot of the modified McLane Deep Profiler at the Axial Base site crawling up the mooring wire. The yellow profiler vehicle climbs up and down the mooring wire between the seafloor and the top buoy, collecting oceanographic data on thin layers in the water column. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/CSSF, Dive 1742, V14.

The Deep Profiler at Axial Base docked in its charging station at the bottom of the mooring. The yellow profiler vehicle climbs up and down the mooring wire between the seafloor and the top buoy, collecting oceanographic data on thin layers in the water column. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive 1742, VISIONS14

The Deep Profiler vertical mooring hosts an instrumented deep wire crawler (McLane) that measures ocean properties from ~3000 m to ~ 200 m water depth. Power and data transfer are provided via an inductive couple. The following instruments are included on the Deep Profiler: CTD, Dissolved Oxygen, 3-D Single Point Current Meter -Temperature, and Fluorometers (CDOM, Chlorophyll-a, Optical Backscatter).

There are three installations planned for the Deep Profiler Vertical Moorings during VISIONS '14. They are each paired with a Shallow Profiler Mooring and a Seafloor Instrument Array at three Sites: at the base of the Cascadia Margin (Slope Base), in shallower waters along the Oregon margin west of Newport (Endurance Array), and at the base of Axial Seamount near PN3A. During Leg 2 of VISIONS'14, a Deep Profiler mooring was installed at PN3A, and successfully tested (engineering and science data downloaded) using the ROV ROPOS.