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-3- The problem of reference measurements In the past, the missing reference temperature turned out to be a serious problem concerning the quality control of single XBT profiles, in particular in the Western North Atlantic where eddies and meanders are frequent. To distinguish between data errors and thermal fronts CMS "Köln Atlantic", in June 1989, was equipped with an automatic sea surface temperature (SST) thermometer which has proved to be very helpful. This SST thermometer was developped at DHI and is manufactured as "Mini-Medes" by Dittberner GmbH, F.R.Germany. The specification given by the manufacturer is as follows: The unit consists of two parts (Fig. 1), the transducer for one or two PtlOO sensors (accuracy: < +_ 0.1 K) and data transmission (RS232), and the LED display (resolution: 0.1 K). "Mini-Medes" is equipped with zero, drift, and reference controls. Printer connection with time control and navigational data input is optional but not used in our SOOP yet. Fig. 1: The components of the contact thermometer "Mini Medes": measuring unit containing two PtlOO (top), data transmission unit (right), LED display (left)