A Deep-Towed ADCP-CTD Instrument Package Developed for Abyssal Overflow Measurements in the Northeastern Caribbean Sea

Abstract

A deep-towed instrument package has been developed to study the velocity and tracer signature of abyssal overflows in the northeastern Caribbean. Primary package components include a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) instrument and an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), allowing for simultaneous measurement of density, watermass tracers, and absolute velocity. A description of package construction and operation is supplemented by examples from a set of 17 deployments during two oceanographic cruises in January 1991 and March 1992. A new method for determining the three-dimensional position of the instrument package is described, based on the ability of the ADCP to acquire reference velocities corresponding to its motion over the seafloor. Factors affecting ADCP data quality are discussed, particularly those stemming from the low-scatterer environment at abyssal depths and the impact of large vertical accelerations due to surface wave-induced ship heave.