A Subsea Winched Profiling System (SWIPS) for Long-Term High-Resolution Measurements in Ocean Surface Layers

Abstract

To overcome the lack of year-long profiling data of upper ocean layers, an autonomous Subsea Winched Profiling System (SWIPS) was developed at the German Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research. Mounted on the top of a scientific mooring, the SWIPS can winch a profiling unit equipped with various sensors from 200-m water depth to the surface. The entire construction was deliberately designed to be compact and lightweight in order to simplify handling and improve performance in the water. Profiler and winch units are connected by an electro-mechanical cable, which is used for a communication link between these two components. This connection enables the main control electronics to use pressure recordings from the conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) sensor for controlling the depth of the profiling unit in real time and a storage of the measured data in the winch unit as a safety backup. Moreover, the cable supplies the profiling unit with power from batteries stored in the winch unit. Several tests and demonstration deployments have shown the operational readiness of the system.