Mooring (oceanography)

Mooring (oceanography)
Sketch of a mooring with traps and current meters

A mooring in oceanography is a collection of devices, connected to a wire and temporarily anchored on the sea floor. The devices are current meters to measure the direction and speed of ocean currents, sediment traps to catch settling particles from the water column or experimental chambers, e.g. to measure the solubility of certain substances in sea water. A mooring can be free floating or anchored for some days to weeks (short-time). Long-time moorings might be deployed for a maximum duration of two years. An acoustic release connects the mooring to an anchor weight on the sea floor. The weight is released by sending a coded acoustic command signal from a ship. The weight (e.g. old rail wheels) is unrecoverable. Floaters permit the mooring to come up to the surface to be recovered by a research vessel.

See also


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Oceanography — For the scientific journal, see Oceanography (journal). Thermohaline circulation Oceanography (compound of the Greek words ωκεανός meaning ocean and γράφω meaning to write ), also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth… …   Wikipedia

  • Physical oceanography — World ocean bathymetry. Physical oceanography is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters. Physical oceanography is one of several sub domains into… …   Wikipedia

  • Sediment trap — Sediment traps are instruments used in oceanography to measure the quantity of sinking particulate organic (and inorganic) material in aquatic systems, usually oceans. This flux of material is the product of biological and ecological processes… …   Wikipedia

  • Benthic lander — Benthic landers are observational platforms that sit on the seabed or benthic zone to record physical, chemical or biological activity. [cite book |title=Cold water Corals and Ecosystems |last=Freiwald |first=André |coauthors=Roberts, J. Murray… …   Wikipedia

  • Biological pump — In oceanic biogeochemistry, the biological pump is the sum of a suite of biologically mediated processes that transport carbon from the surface euphotic zone to the ocean s interior. OverviewThe organic carbon that forms the biological pump is… …   Wikipedia

  • Ocean observations — The following are considered essential ocean climate variables by the OOPC[1][clarification needed] that are currently feasible with current observational systems. Contents 1 Ocean climate variables 1 …   Wikipedia

  • Ocean thermal energy conversion — Temperature differences between the surface and 1000m depth in the oceans Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) uses the difference between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface ocean waters to run a heat engine and produce useful work,… …   Wikipedia

  • Ocean acoustic tomography — The western North Atlantic showing the locations of two experiments that employed ocean acoustic tomography. AMODE, the Acoustic Mid Ocean Dynamics Experiment (1990 1), was designed to study ocean dynamics in an area away from the Gulf Stream,… …   Wikipedia

  • undersea exploration — Introduction       the investigation and description of the ocean waters and the seafloor and of the Earth beneath. Primary objectives and accomplishments       Included in the scope of undersea exploration are the physical and chemical… …   Universalium

  • Tide — This article is about tides in the Earth s oceans. For other uses, see Tide (disambiguation). Tidal redirects here. For other uses, see Tidal (disambiguation). High Tide redirects here. For other uses, see High Tide (disambiguation) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”