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Wadden Sea CTD System
Goal	This CTD-system enables CTD-operations in coastal waters and the shallow Wadden sea with it’s sometimes high tidal currents. Sampling of seawater is possible with a 5 or 8 liter  messenger actuated Niskin attached to a hydrographic wire.
Description	The CTD consists of a SBE9plus underwaterunit, a SBE11plusV2 deckunit, a SBE3plus thermometer, a SBE4 conductivity sensor and a SBE5T underwaterpump. A Seapoint OBS is installed as additional sensor. The SBE11+ has a NMEA interface for navigational data. On the logging computer Seasoft for Windows is installed (Seasave V7.20 and SBE Data Processing V7.20).
Remarks	This CTD is mounted in a small box-shaped stainless steel frame. Due to the small size  the drag from tidal currents is limited. Therefore, in combination with its weight, it is possible to obtain full profiles even during the high current phases of the tides. In the past bigger frames (with samplingbottles) were applied, but these frames were often ‘ blown’ away by the currents.   The ‘bottom’ of the frame is half closed and the CTD is mounted relatively high in the frame. A bottom-touch is no problem at all. The frame just ‘lands’ on the seafloor and doesn’t penetrate the seafloor too much due to the half-closed bottom. The half-open bottom enables sufficient flow-through for the sensors of the CTD during lowering.
Contact	Sven Ober