Sea-Bird Electronics
- Ocean/ Marine Services-Calibration
- Vessels
- Vessels-Research Vessels
Locations
Headquarter
Bellevue WA 98005
USA
Sea-Bird Electronics manufactures oceanographic CTDs and integrated water sampling systems. The CTDs are designed to measure conductivity, temperature, pressure (depth), dissolved oxygen, and other variables, enabling the determination of salinity, density, and other properties contributing to ocean circulation, marine ecosystem function, and global climate dynamics. Sea-Bird has been serving universities, oceanographic institutes, government agencies, engineering firms, and navies throughout the world for over 30 years, and has more than 40 products in current production. The top management has extensive oceanographic and sea-going experience and is dedicated to advancing the science of ocean measurement and developing new capabilities that contribute to better understanding of the oceans.
Sea-Bird Scientific joins Sea-Bird Electronics, WET Labs, and Satlantic to provide the best in biogeochemical and physical oceanographic sensors, allowing us to better develop, design, and deliver comprehensive, integrated systems.
A European calibration and repair center in Germany offers European customers the same high-quality services as our U.S. facility.
Sea-Bird has a consultative and collaborative relationship with customers. By understanding the data requirements and deployment conditions, Sea-Bird can offer its oceanographic expertise, instrument knowledge, and experience to help make instrument choices that bring best value to research or monitoring programs.
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 425-643-9866
- Web: http://www.seabird.com
- Fax: 425-643-9954
Products
CTDs on research vessels, fixed moorings, moored profilers, autonomous drifting profilers (Argo floats), surface salinity floats, AUVs, autonomous gliders, and large-scale networked sensor arrays in ocean observatories present different challenges in acquiring high-accuracy data. The instruments are designed to minimize dynamic errors and preserve initial accuracy.
Sea-Bird profiling CTDs share key features that minimize dynamic errors. There is an enclosed flow path within which critical sensors (T, C, DO) are located. Pumping water through the system forces all measurements to be made on the same water sample, with predictable delay and flow effects. By pumping at a constant rate, T and C sensor response times can be engineered to match and remain independent of CTD speed. This dramatically reduces salinity spiking errors produced when sensors with different response times encounter a gradient. Since the water transit time is fixed, lag times between measurements are a known constant, so measurements can be aligned and coordinated relative to pressure in hardware or data processing.
Sea-Bird moored CTDs also make measurements in an enclosed flow path, for different reasons. Pumping delivers a new water sample to the conductivity and oxygen sensors, independent of ambient circulation. Between measurements, water is trapped in the sensors and plumbing; anti-foulant concentration accumulates to effective levels by diffusion, preserving initial accuracy for long deployments.
February 2024
