vii
Preface
This book arises from material initially compiled for a practical graduate field course
on oceanographic techniques taught at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
Campus (UPRM), Department of Marine Sciences at La Parguera Puerto Rico over
a period of 35 years. Oceanographic techniques encompass practices developed to
observe ocean properties and obtain experimental samples, practices which are in
large part remote since instrument deployment is performed mostly from vessels at
sea. The course included the operation and maintenance of oceanographic probes
provided with a variety of electronic and electro-optical sensors, and of an equally
wide variety of instruments deployed for remote sampling of water, sediment, and
plankton. Data collection and processing from instrument casts as well as handling
and preservation of samples obtained with the various collection devices were
included in the curriculum. Concurrent graduate courses on theoretical and practical
aspects of chemical oceanography and marine pollution provided material regarding
electrochemical sensors, their design, operation, and limitations.
In 1993, support became available for the implementation of an oceanic time
series observing effort off the south coast of Puerto Rico. The Caribbean Time
Series (CaTS) was occupied at monthly intervals aboard various oceanographic vessels through the year 2006. Vertical profiles of physical and biogeochemical water
column features were obtained using instruments here described beginning with
casts to 200 m depth and eventually reaching depths of 3000 m. The CaTS effort
provided a seagoing laboratory for these courses and spurred periodic updates as
new instruments and techniques became available.
Support for a Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CariCOOS) for
Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands (PR and USVI) within a nationwide Integrated United States Ocean Observing System (US IOOS) beginning
around 2004 provided unprecedented autonomous observing capabilities. Through
the efforts of researchers at the University of Puerto Rico and the University of the
Virgin Islands, a multicomponent coastal ocean observing system was planned,
designed, and implemented and is now operational. The reward has been a wealth
Preface
This book arises from material initially compiled for a practical graduate field course
on oceanographic techniques taught at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
Campus (UPRM), Department of Marine Sciences at La Parguera Puerto Rico over
a period of 35 years. Oceanographic techniques encompass practices developed to
observe ocean properties and obtain experimental samples, practices which are in
large part remote since instrument deployment is performed mostly from vessels at
sea. The course included the operation and maintenance of oceanographic probes
provided with a variety of electronic and electro-optical sensors, and of an equally
wide variety of instruments deployed for remote sampling of water, sediment, and
plankton. Data collection and processing from instrument casts as well as handling
and preservation of samples obtained with the various collection devices were
included in the curriculum. Concurrent graduate courses on theoretical and practical
aspects of chemical oceanography and marine pollution provided material regarding
electrochemical sensors, their design, operation, and limitations.
In 1993, support became available for the implementation of an oceanic time
series observing effort off the south coast of Puerto Rico. The Caribbean Time
Series (CaTS) was occupied at monthly intervals aboard various oceanographic vessels through the year 2006. Vertical profiles of physical and biogeochemical water
column features were obtained using instruments here described beginning with
casts to 200 m depth and eventually reaching depths of 3000 m. The CaTS effort
provided a seagoing laboratory for these courses and spurred periodic updates as
new instruments and techniques became available.
Support for a Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CariCOOS) for
Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands (PR and USVI) within a nationwide Integrated United States Ocean Observing System (US IOOS) beginning
around 2004 provided unprecedented autonomous observing capabilities. Through
the efforts of researchers at the University of Puerto Rico and the University of the
Virgin Islands, a multicomponent coastal ocean observing system was planned,
designed, and implemented and is now operational. The reward has been a wealth