Distributed Temperature Sensing for Oceanographic Applications

Abstract

Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) uses Raman scatter from laser light pulsed through an optical fiber to observe temperature along a cable. Temperature resolution across broad scales (seconds to many months, and centimeters to kilometers) make DTS an attractive oceanographic tool. Although DTS is an established technology, oceanographic DTS observations are rare since significant deployment, calibration and operational challenges exist in dynamic oceanographic environments. Here, results from an experiment designed to address likely oceanographic DTS configuration, calibration, and data processing challenges provide guidance for oceanographic DTS applications. Temperature error due to sub-optimal calibration under difficult deployment conditions is quantified for several common scenarios. Alternative calibration, analysis and deployment techniques which help mitigate this error and facilitate successful DTS application in dynamic ocean conditions are discussed.