An Optical Bathythermograph

Seaver Engineering Associates提议开发一种消耗性光学传感系统来测量海洋深度和温度(光学BathyThermograph，BT)。20世纪60年代，消耗型Bathy温度计(XBT)的商业化发展开始了海洋测量过程中的一场革命。XBT减少了船舶在某一位置停车并费力地放下和举起仪器的需要，同时在甲板上记录测量数据，因为它们是沿着电力绞车钢丝绳传输的。XBT只是在一艘船在航时被扔出船外，它的数据被传输到一根细的消耗性电线上。这艘船永远不会停下来，结果是效率大大提高，大大减少了每次测量的时间，增加了数据量。现在，每年都要进行数十万次XBT测量。Seaver的提议是开发一种光学消耗性BT。与用于海洋的标准机电测量设备相比，光学设备具有许多优势，包括高数据速率、低衰减、重量轻、不可腐蚀以及不受电气接地的影响。此外，随着光纤成本的不断下降，光学系统很可能会变得比目前的系统更便宜。Seaver在小型企业创新研究(SBIR)计划的第一阶段展示了光学压力和温度传感器的可行性。这项为SBIR第二阶段提供资金的建议是开发一台原型仪器，并对其进行校准和测试。

Seaver Engineering Associates proposes to develop an expendable optical sensing system to measure oceanic depth and temperature (an optical bathythermograph, BT). The commercial development of the expendable bathythermograph (XBT) in the 1960s began a revolution in the process of making oceanographic measurements. The XBT alleviated the need for a ship to stop at a location and laboriously lower and raise an instrument while recording, on deck, the measurements as they were transmitted up the electrical winch wire. The XBT is merely thrown overboard while a ship is underway and its data is tramsmitted up a thin expendable wire. The ship never stops and, as a consequence, becomes far more efficient, dramatically reducing the time per measurement and increasing the quantity of data. Literally hundreds of thousands of XBT measurements are now taken every year. The proposal by Seaver is to develop an optical expendable BT. Optics have a number of advantages over standard electromechanical measurement devices intended for ocean use including high data rates, low attenuation, light weight, non- corrosible, and unaffected by electrical grounding. Further, with costs for optical fiber continually dropping, it is quite likely that an optical system will become cheaper than present systems. Seaver demonstrated the feasibility of an optical pressure and temperature sensor in Phase I of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. This proposal, for Phase II SBIR funding, is to develop a prototype instrument and to calibrate and test it.