Today is not only the day for our second Covid19-test (my nose still hurts!) it is also (more importantly) CTD-appreciation day! CTD stands for Conductivity-Temperature-Depth and it is the most important instrument for a sea-going oceanographer. The CTD is lowered down through the water column and collects data on how temperature and salinity changes with depth. Normally you also attach other sensors to the CTD, measuring e.g. oxygen, fluorescence, and currents.
The plan for the CTD-stations that are to be occupied during COSMUS, the expedition that I’m to join, is shaping up – but icebergs, ice conditions, and weather determine even where a large ice breaker like Polarstern can go… so they will have the last word!
But it is still a few weeks before we are there, so in the meantime, you get to enjoy a CTD-cast from a previous expedition to the Weddell Sea! Have a nice CTD-appreciation day!
