An Optical Bathythermograph

Seaver Engineering Associates建议开发一种 测量海洋深度的一次性光学传感系统， 温度（光学测深仪，BT）。 消耗品的商业开发 20世纪60年代，深海温度计（XBT）开始了一场革命， 进行海洋测量的过程。 XBT缓解了 一艘船需要停在一个地方， 在甲板上记录时， 当它们被传送到电动绞车上时， 钢丝. XBT只是被扔到船外， 它的数据通过一根很细的一次性电线传输。 这艘船永不停止，因此， 高效，显著减少每次测量的时间， 增加数据量。 当下有真真切切的成千上百 现在每年都会进行的XBT测量。 西弗的建议是开发一种光学消耗品， BT. 与标准光学相比， 海洋用机电测量装置 包括高数据速率、低衰减、重量轻、非 易腐蚀，不受电气接地影响。此外，随着 光纤成本持续下降，很可能 光学系统将变得比现有系统更便宜。 西弗证明了光学压力的可行性 小型企业创新第一阶段 研究（SBIR）计划。 本提案针对第二阶段SBIR 资金，是开发一个原型仪器和校准 并测试它。

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.