The design and construction of a towed multi-port water sampling probe for 100 meter depths

Abstract

The experimental towed multi-port water sampler was designed to provide a shipboard science party with the capability of obtaining continuous water samples from the surface to a 100 meter depth. The device will simultaneously provide six samples spaced one meter apart in a vertical plane, while being towed by a surface support vessel at a forward speed of between two to three knots. The device consists of a bottom fish containing six electric motors, each driving an individual pump. The six water samples are pumped to the surface using separate runs of TFE Teflon tubing. The tube is mounted in a pliant fairing that also houses the lifting cable, power leads, and instrumentation bundle. A drum winch is used to store a total of 150 meters of faired cable, and is capable of raising or lowering the fish while under way. The sampler will provide a discharge flow rate of 5.6 liters per minute from each sample tube, while pumping through 150 meters of 12.7 rnrn bore tubing, against a 4.5 meter head. A depth sensor transducer within the fish provides a top-side readout of the actual operating depth of the fish, while a remote reading temperature sensor provides a continuous display of the water temperature.