Use of the High Resolution Profiler (HRP) in the Brazil Basin Tracer Release Experiment

Abstract

On two recent cruises January 1996 and February 1997) aboard the R/V Seward Johnson, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution studied the deep mixing processes in the Brazil Basin. Two instrument systems were used in this experiment: the tracer injection and sampling system, and the High Resolution Profiler (HRP). The HRP measurements complement those obtained by the tracer sampling system, providing independent estimates of the turbulent and diffusive mixing occurrng in the study area. During the cruises, the HRP was used to make two zonal sections across the basin, provide data used to select the tracer injection site, and explore the jagged terrain near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The HRP component of the work at sea, an instrument description, data return and some preliminary results are presented in this report.