Radar & Visual 

 27 



Radar Only 

 56 



Visual Only 

 15 



Figure 12. Breakdown of targets detected by IRD in 2001. 



Oceanographic Operations 



Historically, IIP conducted extensive 

 oceanographic surveys on the Grand 

 Banks. Oceanographic operations peaked 

 in the 1960's when the U. S. Coast Guard 

 devoted substantial ship resources to 

 collecting oceanographic data. Two factors 

 combined to change the nature of HP's 

 oceanographic operations. First, increased 

 competition among the various U. S. Coast 

 Guard missions m.ade it increasingly 

 difficult for IIP to obtain ship resources. 

 Second, there was a vast improvement in 

 the capability and reliability of deployable 

 oceanographic instruments. 



IIP collects oceanographic data with 

 air or ship-deployed satellite-tracked 

 drifting buoys and air-deployed expendable 

 bathythermograph probes. AXBT probes 

 are dropped to determine the water 

 temperature profile. This information helps 

 IIP determine the location of the Labrador 

 Current, validate temperatures from 

 satellite-tracked drifting buoys, and obtain 

 precise SST measurements for numerical 

 models. During the 2001 season IIP 

 dropped 76 AXBT probes. Data was 

 collected from 66 of the AXBT drops, a 



failure rate of 13%. Figure 13 shows the 

 development of HP's AXBT program since 

 1999. IIP awarded a contract in 1999 to 

 replace the AXBT receiver with a more 

 reliable system. The new system was 

 tested and used operationally during the 

 2000 and 2001 seasons. Experience with 

 the new system continues to reduce 

 failures. 



AXBT information is coded into a 

 standard format and shared with the 

 Canadian Maritime Atlantic Command 

 Meteorological and Oceanographic Center, 

 HP's supplier of AXBT probes. Data is also 

 sent to the U. S. Naval Fleet Numerical 

 Oceanographic and Meteorological Center 



150 



100% 



75% o> 



- 50°'o 



(0 



25% u- 



1999 



2000 



2001 



AXBTs — Failures 



Figure 13. AXBT drops and failure rate (1999-2001) 



13 



