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Probing the Depths

In September 2012, WHOI engineers Ken Decoteau and Jeff Lord deployed a vertical microstructure profiler from RV Knorr. The instrument records water velocity, temperature, and salinity on sub-centimeter scale as it descends and gives researchers a detailed look at the way different layers of the ocean mix and interact. On this particular cruise, led by WHOI physical oceanographer Ray Schmitt, scientists were interested in examining the “salinity maximum” of the North Atlantic and the role salt content plays in both large- and small-scale mixing in the ocean.(Photo courtesy of Ken Decoteau, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)