14 
Sy, A. et al. (2002): Upper Ocean Climate Shlp-of-Opportunity Programme of BSH - A Status Report 
Measurements of temperature profiles alone, even if they are supplemented by occasional CTD 
sections, do not satisfactorily meet the requirements for monitoring heat transport variability or 
other important processes of highly variable upper ocean or thermocline T/S relations. 
Therefore, we started to carry out occasional XCTD measurements as soon as possible, initially 
using prototype expendable CTDs developed by Sippican Inc., Marion, USA (Sy, 1992). 
Although XCTD probes with the required performance are now available for operational use to 
close this gap (Sy, 1998a, b; Watanabe et al„ 1998; Gilson et al., 2000) BSH meanwhile has 
reduced its XCTD programme because of an unsatisfactory cost-benefit relation. The last North 
Atlantic XCTD transect was carried out with good success in January 2000 (Fig. 9) using the 
probes and an acquisition system designed by Tsurumi-Seiki Co. (TSK), Yokohama, Japan. 
50'N 
45'N 
40’N 
I 1 
200 nautical miles 
-6000 -5000 -4000 
=F 
2000 
-1000 -500-200 0 
CMS Koeln Express Cruise212 E 
(11.01.-14.01.2000) 
O lOO 200 300 +00 500 600 700 BOO 900 lOOO 1100 1200 1300 1+00 1500 
distance [nm] 
CMS Koeln Express 212 XCTD 
'Temperature 
Bundesamt futrr SaczehiffaKrt unef HydmgrBph&t 
Foifcmt Atar-Mime and HyOrogreiphic Agency 
08/January/2003 10:39