A lightweight, portable, digital probe for measuring the thermal gradient in shallow water sediments, with examples from Patagonia

Heatflow measurements, on land or at sea have been previously costly to take, and hence there is sparse coverage of the world. The design and field methodology is described of a probe that measures the temperature gradient at depths of up to 5?m into soft sediments. The important features of the probe are that it is modular, digitally recording, and lightweight, allowing deployment by hand. It is self-contained, allowing deployment from almost any available boat. The time per measurement is about 30?min. and therefore makes surveys with multiple readings practicable.