NASA's Field Support Group (FSG) has several optical instruments from leading manufacturers to measure inherent and apparent optical properties (IOPs and AOPs). AOP instruments are generally deployed in free-fall packages, while IOP instruments are deployed in profiling cages or plumbed into the ship's clean seawater system for underway measurements.
IOP Instrumentation
| Instrument | Description |
|---|---|
| WET-Labs ac-s (2) | Measures absorption (a) and attenuation (c) at approximately 80 wavelengths between 400 and 750 nm. |
| WET-Labs ac-9 | Measures absorption (a) and attenuation (c) at 9 wavelengths. |
| WET-Labs bb-9 | Measures backscatter (bb) at one angle, nine wavelengths. |
| WET-Labs VSF-9 | Measures backscatter (bb) at 9 angles, one wavelength. |
| WET-Labs CDOM Fluorometer | Measures concentration of colored dissolved organic material by exciting at 370nm and measuring fluorescence at 460nm. |
| WET-Labs Chlorophyll Fluorometer | Measures concentration of chlorophyll-a by exciting at 470nm and measuring fluorescence at 695nm. |
| WET-Labs C-star | Measures attenuation (c) at 650nm. |
| HOBILABS a-Sphere | Measure absorption (a) at 1500 wavelengths between 360 and 750 nm using an integrating sphere. |
| HOBILABS HS-6 | Measures backscatter (bb) at one angle, 6 wavelengths, and fluorescence at 2 wavelengths. |
AOP Instrumentation
| Instrument | Description |
|---|---|
| Satlantic Profiler II | Free-fall profiler for use with radiometers. Includes Conductivity and Temperature sensors. |
| Satlantic HyperOCR (set of 3 radiometers) | Measures solar irradiance (Es), downwelling or upwelling irradiance (Ed or Eu), and upwelling radiance (Lu) at 120 wavelengths from 350 to 750 nm. |
| Satlantic OCR 507 (set of 2 radiometers) | Measures downwelling or upwelling irradiance (Ed or Eu), and upwelling radiance (Lu) at 7 wavelengths. |
| Biospherical C-Ops (set of 3 radiometers, plus free-fall package) | Measures solar irradiance (Es), downwelling or upwelling irradiance (Ed or Eu), and upwelling radiance (Lu) at 19 wavelengths. |
Ancillary Instruments
| Instrument | Description |
|---|---|
| Seabird SBE 49 (3) | Measures conductivity, temperature and pressure. |
| Hobilabs Hydrodas | Power and data handler for Hobilabs instruments. |
| Wetlabs DH-4 (2) | Power and data handler for Wetlabs instruments. |
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