CTDs, profilers. and acoustic releases.
A Microcat is a type of CTD (for Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth) that can be attached to a mooring and measure salinity and temperature every hour or so for a period of up to two years. With these measurements we can identify the sources and changes of water masses that pass by the mooring. Some of the near-surface instruments suffer extreme bio-fouling like this one, but it was still in working order!
The McLane Profiler is a profiling instrument which clings to a mooring line and travels up and down to collect measurements from all depths in the water column. Inside the body of the profiler is flotation, batteries, and electronics. On the outside is a CTD and an acoustic current meter, which measures the motion of the water using relative travel time to its four mini transducers. The UK team deployed one profiler in the DWBC.
Acoustic releases are used to link the mooring with the anchor, so that a mooring and all its instrumentation can be released from the anchor at the end of an experiment, enabling it to float to the surface and be recovered from a ship. The release opens when it receives a certain acoustic command, which is sent by a technician through a hydrophone when he is ready to recover the mooring. It can take several hours for the instruments to reach the surface. Anchors (like the one shown on the left) are typically made from old railcar wheels.
