Ocean Science www.ocean-sci.net 1812-0784 1812-0792 5 4 2009 10.5194/os-5-685-2009 http://www.ocean-sci.net/5/685/2009/ http://www.ocean-sci.net/5/685/2009/os-5-685-2009.html http://www.ocean-sci.net/5/685/2009/os-5-685-2009.pdf 685 695 2009-12-15 Technical Note: Animal-borne CTD-Satellite Relay Data Loggers for real-time oceanographic data collection L. Boehme lb284@st-andrews.ac.uk P. Lovell M. Biuw F. Roquet J. Nicholson S. E. Thorpe M. P. Meredith M. Fedak NERC Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 8LB, UK LOCEAN/Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, France Valeport Ltd., Totnes, UK British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK now at: Norwegian Polar Institute, Polar Environmental Centre, 9296 Tromsø, Norway The increasing need for continuous monitoring of the world oceans has stimulated the development of a range of autonomous sampling platforms. One novel addition to these approaches is a small, relatively inexpensive data-relaying device that can be deployed on marine mammals to provide vertical oceanographic profiles throughout the upper 2000 m of the water column. When an animal dives, the CTD-Satellite Relay Data Logger (CTD-SRDL) records vertical profiles of temperature, conductivity and pressure. Data are compressed once the animal returns to the surface where it is located by, and relays data to, the Argos satellite system. The technical challenges met in the design of the CTD-SRDL are the maximising of energy efficiency and minimising size, whilst simultaneously maintaining the reliability of an instrument that cannot be recovered and is required to survive its lifetime attached to a marine mammal. The CTD-SRDLs record temperature and salinity with an accuracy of better than 0.005 °C and 0.02 respectively. 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