Micro-scale profiler (MSP) for measurement of small-scale turbulence in the ocean

This paper describes a free-fall micro-scale profiler (MSP) which can measure vertical profiles of microscale velocity shear, temperature gradient, and conductivity gradient of both fine and microscale ranges, together with the vertical profiles of temperature and conductivity. The measurable vertical scales of the microscale shear range from about 50 cm to 2 cm. The MSP was designed to perform profiling to depths of 500 m with a nominal fall speed of about 70 cm sec⁻¹. Retrieval of the instrument is accomplished by a 700 m Kevlar string of 1.5 mm in diameter wound on a portable winch, after ballast has been released at a present depth by a mechanical rupture disk. The results of sea trials show that the microscale shear spectrum nearly corresponds with the theoretical one derived on the assumption of homogeneous turbulence.