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Ref. No. [UMCES] CBL 2016-015
ACT VS16-06
9
Moored Field Tests
Field Deployment Sites and Conditions
A four month moored deployment was conducted at Michigan Technological University’s
Great Lakes Research Center dock in Houghton, MI. Instruments were deployed in January and
kept under ice cover until April. Instruments were programmed to sample at a minimum frequency
of once per hour. ACT collected reference samples twice per day for 4 days per week during the
entire deployment. Instruments were moored at approximately 4m depth and surface access
through the ice was maintained by gentle circulation with a propeller to allow deployment of the
Van Dorn sampling bottle. The goal of this test application was to demonstrate instrument
performance (reliability, accuracy, and stability) in winter-time environmental conditions and to
demonstrate the ability to operate continuous observations under ice.
A three month moored deployment was conducted at the Chesapeake Biological Lab Pier,
Solomons, MD. Instruments were deployed between May and August during a period of warming
temperatures and high biological production. Instruments were moored at fixed depth of 1m on a
floating dock. Instruments were programmed to sample at a minimum frequency of once per hour.
ACT collected reference samples twice per day for 3 days per week and collected six samples on
one day per week during the entire deployment. The intensive sampling was spaced to capture the
maximum range of expected diurnal variation in dissolved oxygen concentrations. The goal of this
test application was to demonstrate instrument performance (reliability, accuracy, and stability)
under high biofouling conditions and over a range of salinity and temperature conditions in a
coastal estuarine environment.
A four month moored deployment was conducted in a shore patch reef at the Hawaii
Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), Coconut Island, Kaneohe, HI. Instruments were deployed
between September and January. Instruments were moored at approximately 1m depth on a
bottom mounted PVC rack and were programmed to sample at a minimum frequency of once per
hour. Some manufacturers chose to sample more frequently to demonstrate that capability. ACT
collected reference samples twice per day for 3 days per week and collected six samples on one
day per week during the entire deployment. The intensive sampling was spaced to capture the
maximum range of expected diurnal variation in dissolved oxygen concentrations. The goal of this
test application was to demonstrate instrument performance (reliability, accuracy, and stability)
under high biofouling conditions in warm, full salinity coastal ocean conditions.
Field Testing Procedures
The moored deployments were run sequentially, and instrument packages were returned to
manufacturers for reconditioning and calibration in between each successive field test.
Prior to each deployment, instruments were set-up and calibrated if required, as directed by the
manufacturer and demonstrated at a prior training workshop. Sensors were programmed to record
dissolved oxygen data at a minimum of once per hour at the top of the hour for the duration of the
planned deployment. All instrument internal clocks were set to local time and updated before
programming using www.time.gov as the time standard. A photograph of each individual sensor
and the entire sensor rack was taken just prior to deployment and just after recovery to provide a