Brooke Ocean Technology Limited has recently delivered a SeaHorse™ Profiler to the Defence Research Establishment Atlantic (DREA).

The SeaHorse™ delivered to DREA has a maximum deployment depth of 200 metres and was equipped with the standard complement of sensors including the Sea-Bird 19 CTD.

Dr. Dan Hutt attended the training session / factory acceptance testing provided by BOT at DREA facilities prior to delivery. The unit was deployed from the DREA research vessel, CFAV QUEST, as part of a scheduled scientific cruise. DREA staff were able to collect a CTD profile every 30 minutes using their new SeaHorse profiler. Dr. Hutt had this to say about SeaHorse:

"We need continuous CTD profiles for periods of weeks at a time to test oceanographic models. It just doesn't make sense to dedicate a ship to traditional CTD casts. The Brooke Ocean SeaHorse™ Ocean Profiler is an excellent solution for us. Because it uses energy from surface waves to make the instrument go up and down the water column, it can be deployed for months. We can rely on good quality data from the integrated Sea-Bird CTD. The SeaHorse™ is easy to program with excellent testing features so that you know it's working properly before it goes into the water. We obtained hundreds of profiles recorded every half hour in 100 m of water in May, 2001. The SeaHorse™ has become our primary oceanographic instrument."

SeaHorse™ is a self-contained profiling system that moves up and down a mooring wire, powered by the energy of surface waves. The use of wave energy allows long term deployments without the need for large amounts of battery power. Because SeaHorse™ can profile vertically through the water column on a regular basis, it eliminates the requirement for multiple sensors on the mooring.

Click here to see a larger, full data set from the DREA cruise.