EQUIPMENT 



NEL TOWER 



The NEL oceanographic research tower is located 

 approximately 1 mile off Mission Beach, San Diego, 

 California, in 6 feet of water (fig. 1). The sandy bottom 

 recedes gently seaward. Along tnree sides of the tower, 

 pairs of tracks run vertically from the platform work area 

 to the bottom. Sled-like carts with shoes loosely clamped 

 on the rails are lowered and raised by winches and permit 

 the accurate placement of instruments in the water column. 

 The details of tower construction, instrumentation, and 

 operation are described by LaFond (1959).^^ The use of this 

 fixed, stable platform alleviated many of the sampling 

 problems inherent in shipboard operation by fixing the study 

 in space. 



1MILE 



MEASUREMENT 



SITE 



(TOWER) 



.MISSION 

 BAY 



SAN DIEGO 



Figure 1. Location of NEL oceanographic research tower. 



