CHAPTER E 



TAKING AN OCEANOGRAPHIC STATION 



E-1 Oceanographic Log S h e e t - A . — The 



Oceanographic Log Sheet-A (NAVOCEANO- 

 EXP-3167/1 (Rev. 9-64) ), usually referred to 

 as the A-Sheet, is the basic record of an ocean- 

 ographic station (fig. E-1). It is used to record 

 the Nansen bottle observationSj sea water sam- 

 ple bottle numbers of the salinity, oxygen, and 

 nutrient samples, water temi^erature and clepth 

 calculations, and related meteorological and sea 

 and swell information obtained while occupying 

 an oceanographic station. The analyses and cal- 

 culations of the station data are derived from 

 the information recorded on this sheet. Extreme 

 care must be taken when making all entries, 

 which should be printed neatly. LTpon comple- 

 tion of all entries and calculations, the A-Sheet 

 should be filed in a manila oceanographic sta- 

 tion folder (fig. E-2). 



E-2 Setting Up the A-Sheet.— After the 



Nansen bottles, with their tliennometers and 

 sea water sample bottles, are arranged in the 

 Nansen bottle rack in the order they are to be 

 placed on the oceanographic wire, set up the 

 A-Sheet for the first Nansen cast so no delay 

 will be encountered once the ship arrives on sta- 

 tion. Instructions for recording observations on 

 the Log Sheet A (iig. E-1) follow: 



Step 1. Record the following information in 

 the appropi'iate blocks of the A-Sheet heading : 



Project No. Each cruise is assigned a proj- 

 ect number. This number is in the survey 

 specifications. 



Assigned Station No. This is a number 

 and/or letter designating stations. It may be 

 assigned prior to the cruise by the survey 

 specifications. 



Vessel. Record full name and number of ship. 



Step 2. Record the number of each Nansen 

 bottle to be. used in the cast in Nansen Bottle 

 No. column. List from shallow to deep, allowing 

 an extra line for those bottles equipped with 

 more than two thermometere. 



Step 3. Record the following: information in 

 tlie various colunms as appropriate : 



Serial No. Salinity Sample Bottle No. Nan- 

 sen bottle observations taken during a cruise are 

 numbered consecutively beginning with the first 

 Nansen bottle of the first station. Use this same 

 number for the Salinity Sample Bottle Num- 



ber. Mark the number on each salinity sample 

 bottle with a waterproof marker. 



Sample Bottle Nimiber. Three columns are 

 provided for recording additional sea water 

 sample bottle numbers. In column (1) O2, 

 record oxygen sample bottle number. Use col- 

 umns (2) and (3) for other chemical water 

 samples. 



Step 4. Identify each cast with a Roman 

 numeral, and enclose the serial numbers of the 

 cast with a bracket. 



Step 5. In Thenn No. columns, record the 

 thermometer numljere for each Nansen bottle. 

 The thermometer numlier is the manufacturer's 

 number. It is inside the theiinometer jacket on 

 a metal band. Record this number carefully. In- 

 dicate improtected thermometers by placing a 

 triangular mark in the corner of the Therm No. 

 block. NOTE : Two, three, and sometimes four 

 thermometers are used on a Nansen bottle, and 

 it is accepted practice to indicate their position 

 in the thermometer frame as left and right. 

 Also, when protected and unprotected ther- 

 mometers are used on the same Nansen bottle, 

 record the protected thermometers on one line 

 and unprotected thermometer (s) on one line. 



Step 6. 'Eini^v'miheWireLength.DejJthiL) 

 column the length of wire in metere for the de- 

 sired depth of each Nansen bottle. 



Step 7. Compute the down meter wheel read- 

 ing for each Nansen bottle by subtracting its 

 wire length depth (L) from the wire length 

 depth (L) of the deepest bottle, and record 

 these values in the appropriate Meter Wheel 

 Reading Down column; e.g.. 



For Nansen Bottle number 1, 



600-0 = 600 

 For Nansen Bottle number 10, 



600-400=200 

 For Nansen Bottle number 12, 



600-600=0 



Write the meter wheel readings for the cast on 

 a card, and give it to the winch operator so he 

 will know where each Nansen bottle is to be 

 placed on the wire. 



Step 8. Invert the Nansen bottles and place 

 them in the Nansen bottle rack with valves open 

 and petcock up. 



Step 9. After the ship arrives on station. 



E-1 



