The list below contains links to Sea-Bird Technical Papers and useful references on instrument characteristics and methods.
Application Notes contain valuable information about how to use our instruments and software, including information on coefficient calculations, calibration procedures, instrument adjustments, configuration assistance, and instrument care and maintenance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
FAQs covering general instrument questions, general oceanographic questions, recommended practices, service, ordering, software, data analysis and processing, and manufacturing.Glossary
Glossary of oceanographic terminology.Sea-Bird Training Materials
Links to training modules; Module 0 (starting on page 15) includes a very basic introduction to CTDs.Application Note 93: CTD Basics
Very basic introduction to CTDs.
Newsletters contain press releases and Sea-Bird's scientific advances in oceanographic instruments and measurement.
Complete text of papers written by Sea-Bird to explain the engineering and science behind a specific Sea-Bird instrument or measurement methodology:
Accuracy and Stability of Argo SBE 41 and SBE 41CP CTD Conductivity and Temperature Sensors
Carol Janzen, Nordeen Larson, Rick Beed, Kristi Anson.
Sea-Bird Electronics
Preliminary summary of SBE 41 and 41CP sensor performance on Argo profiling floats, December 2008Extend Your Dissolved Oxygen Measurements in High Fouling Environments
Carol Janzen, David Murphy.
Sea-Bird Electronics
From Poster developed for Estuarine Research Federation 2007 Conference, Providence, RI, USA, November 4 - 8, 2007Conductivity Sensors for Moored and Autonomous Operation
Sea-Bird Electronics (Revised 02/03)Measurement Accuracy at Triple Point of Water and Gallium Melt Point Supports a Total Measurement Uncertainty of 0.0006 degrees C
Sea-Bird Electronics (09/01)Real-Time Oceanography with Inductive Moorings and the Inductive Modem Module (Application Note 92)
Sea-Bird Electronics (Revised 05/11)Determination of Sound Velocity from CTD Data (Application Note 6)
Sea-Bird Electronics (Revised 08/04)TC Duct Fundamentals (Application Note 38)
Sea-Bird Electronics (Revised 12/92)Strain Gauge Pressure Sensor Error Sources:
Application Note 27Druck Sea-Bird Electronics (Revised 07/05) -- current production instruments with Druck pressure sensors
Application Note 27 Sea-Bird Electronics (Revised 08/01) -- older instruments with Paine pressure sensors
Complete text:
Slope to Basin and Vertical Particle Transport Dynamics Measured with a Profiling Biogeochemical Float
Ian Walsh, Dave Murphy, Thomas O. Mitchell
Sea-Bird Scientific
From Poster Presentation, 2014 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 23-28 February 2014New Generation of Instrumentation for Navis Profiling Floats
Joel Reiter, Dan Quittman, Thomas O. Mitchell
Sea-Bird Scientific
From Poster Presentation, 2014 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 23-28 February 2014Improving Argo Float Data: Steps toward Implementing Onboard Cell Thermal Mass Corrections
Carol Janzen, Dave Murphy, Joel Reiter
Sea-Bird Scientific
From Poster Presentation, 2014 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 23-28 February 2014Biogeochemical Monitoring of the Oceans Using Autonomous Profiling Floats
Andrew Barnard (WET Labs) and Tom Mitchell (Sea-Bird Electronics)
Ocean News & Technology, Volume 19, Issue 2, March 2013.Environmental Monitoring of Dredging Operations
Thomas O. Mitchell (Sea-Bird Electronics) and Ian Walsh (WET Labs)
Ocean News & Technology, Volume 18, Issue 11, December 2012.Drift Measurements in Pressure Sensors
Joel Reiter, Dave Murphy, and Nordeen Larson
Sea-Bird Electronics
From Poster Presentation, 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 19-24 February 2012Physical Oceanographic Data from Seaglider Trials in Stratified Coastal Waters Using a New Pumped Payload CTD
Carol Janzen (Sea-Bird Electronics), Elizabeth Creed (iRobot Corporation)
Proceedings of Oceans 2011 MTS/IEEE Kona, September 19 - 22, 2011Improving CTD Data from Gliders by Optimizing Sample Rate and Flow Past Sensors
Carol Janzen (Sea-Bird Electronics)
Ocean News & Technology, Volume 17, Issue 7, August 2011.On the Use of a Secondary Standard to Improve Autosal Calibration
Genevieve Haviland Howell, Richard Guenther, Carol Janzen, Nordeen Larson (Sea-Bird Electronics)
From Poster Presentation, AGU Ocean Sciences, Portland, Oregon, USA, 22 - 26 February 2010.Considerations for CTD Spatial and Temporal Resolution on Moving Platforms
Carol Janzen (Sea-Bird Electronics)
Ocean News & Technology, Volume 15, Issue 6, September 2009.Measurement of Salinity and Temperature Profiles through the Sea Surface on Argo Floats
David Murphy1, Stephen Riser2, Nordeen Larson1, and Carol Janzen1,
1 Sea-Bird Electronics 2 University of Washington,
From Poster Presentation, 4th Aquarius/SAC-D Science Workshop, Puerto Madryn, Argentina, 3 - 5 December 2008.WQM: New Instrumentation for Coastal Monitoring
Carol Janzen (Sea-Bird Electronics), Nordeen Larson (Sea-Bird Electronics), and Casey Moore (WET Labs)
Sea Technology, Volume 49, Number 2, February 2008Long-Term Oxygen Measurements
Carol Janzen, Nordeen Larson, and David Murphy
Sea-Bird Electronics
International Ocean Systems, Volume 12, Number 2, March/April 2008STS: An Instrument for Extending Argo Temperature and Salinity Measurements through the Sea Surface
Nordeen Larson, Carol Janzen, and David Murphy,
Sea-Bird Electronics
From Poster Presentation, 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Orlando Florida, 2 - 7 March 2008.Improvements to the SBE 43 Oxygen Calibration Algorithm
David Murphy, Nordeen Larson, and Brad Edwards,
Sea-Bird Electronics
From Poster Presentation, 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Orlando Florida, 2 - 7 March 2008.Assessing the Calibration Stability of Oxygen Sensor Data on Argo profiling floats using routine WOCE monitoring data from HOT
Carol Janzen and Nordeen Larson,
Sea-Bird Electronics
From Poster Presentation, 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Orlando Florida, 2 - 7 March 2008.WQM: A New Integrated Water Quality Monitoring Package for Long-Term In-Situ Observation of Physical and Biogeochemical Parameters
Cristina M. Orrico 1, Casey Moore 1, Dave Romanko 1, Alex Derr 1, Andrew H. Barnard 1, Carol Janzen 2, Norge Larson 2, David Murphy 2, Rob Johnson 2, Jesse Bauman 2
1 WET Labs 2 Sea-Bird Electronics
Proceedings of Oceans 2007 MTS/IEEE Vancouver, B.C., Canada, October 1 - 4, 2007Getting More Mileage out of Dissolved Oxygen Sensors in Long-Term Moored Applications
Carol Janzen, David Murphy, Nordeen Larson,
Sea-Bird Electronics
Proceedings of Oceans 2007 MTS/IEEE Vancouver, B.C., Canada, October 1 - 4, 2007Dissolved oxygen extrema in the Arctic ocean halocline from the North Pole to the Lincoln Sea
Kelly Kenison Falkner, Michael Steele, Rebecca A. Woogate, James H. Swift, Knut Aagaard, James Morison,
Deep Sea Research, I 52 (2005) 1138 - 1154.A Year of Oxygen Measurements from Argo Floats
Nordeen Larson,
Sea-Bird Electronics
From Poster Presentation, 1st ARGO Science Workshop, Tokyo, Japan, 12 - 14 November 2003.Development of an Optimized Dissolved Oxygen Sensor for Oceanographic Profiling
Jim Carlson,
Sea-Bird Electronics
International Ocean Systems, Volume 6, Number 5, September/October 2002Advances in Drifting Buoy Technology
Sean C. Kennan, Pearn P. Niiler, and Andrew Sybrandy,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA. USA
Int. WOCE Newsletter, #30, March 1998, 7-10.In-situ Temperature Calibration: A Remark on Instruments and Methods
G. Budeus and W. Schneider,
Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
Int. WOCE Newsletter, #30, March 1998, 16-18.Comparative Thermodynamic Efficiency Measurements Using PT-100 Sensors and Seabird 38
E. Bokko, Norconsult AS and H. Hullaas, SWECO Groner AS
For International Group for Hydroelectric Efficiency Measurement (IGHEM) 2004 ConferenceThermodynamic Method: Comparison of Sea-Bird and Pt 100 Temperature Probes
E. Paquet,
E.D.F. Division Technique Générale, France
For International Group for Hydroelectric Efficiency Measurement (IGHEM)
1998 Conference, in conjunction with HydroVision '98, Reno, Nevada USA,
July 28-31 1998, p 217-227.On the Design and Implementation of Argo, A Global Array of Profiling Floats
The Argo Science Team (Dean Roemmich [chair], Olaf Boebel, Howard Freeland, Brian King, Pierre-Yves LeTraon, Robert Molinari,
W. Brechner Owens, Stephen Riser, Uwe Send, Kensuke Takeuchi, Susan Wijffels)Temperature Measurements in Flowing Water: Viscous Heating of Sensor Tips
Nordeen Larson and Arthur Pederson,
Sea-Bird Electronics
1st IGHEM Meeting, Montreal, Canada, June 1996The Correction for Thermal-Lag Effects in Sea-Bird CTD Data
Morison, J., R. Andersen, Larson, N., D'Asaro, E., and Boyd, T.,
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology (JAOT),
V11(4), August 1994, 1151-1164.Dynamic Response of Sea-Bird CTD Pressure Sensors to Temperature
Chiswell, S.M.,
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology (JAOT),
V8(5), October 1991, p 659-668.Thermal Inertia of Conductivity Cells: Theory
Lueck, R.G. (1990),
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology (JAOT),
V7(5), October 1990, p 741-755.Thermal Inertia of Conductivity Cells: Observations with a Sea-Bird Cell
Lueck, R.G. and J.J. Picklo,
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology (JAOT),
V7(5), October 1990, p 756-768.Moored Salinity Time Series Measurements at 0°, 140° W
McPhaden, M.J., H. Paul Freitag and Andrew J. Shepherd,
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology (JAOT),
V7(4), August 1990, p 568-575.Dynamic Response Calibration of Sea-Bird Temperature and Conductivity Probes
Gregg, M.C. and W.C. Hess,
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology (JAOT),
V2(3), September 1985, 304-313.
References (complete text not available on-line through our website):
Smethie, W.M. Jr., et al., "A lightweight vertical rosette for deployment in ice-covered waters". Deep-Sea Research I (2011), doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2010.12.007. (abstract)
Edwards, B., Janzen, C., Murphy, D., Larson, N., "Calibration, Response and Hysteresis in Deep-Sea Dissolved Oxygen Measurements", Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Volume 27, Issue 5, May 2010. (abstract) .
Irish, J.D., Ward, L.G., and Boduch, S., "Correcting and Validating Moored Oxygen Time-Series Observations in the Gulf of Maine", MTS 1-410-884-5330, IEEE Catalog Number CFP08OCE-CDR, ISBN 978-1-4244-2620-1, Library of Congress 2008904879.
Riser, S.C and Johnson, K.S., "Net production of oxygen in the subtropical ocean", Nature, January 2008, p. 323 - 325. (abstract)
"Supercalibration on the High Seas" (1997), NMi News, Nederlands Meetinstituut, V11(2), 3.
Larson, N.G. (1996) "Using a Primary Temperature Standard at Sea: A Case Study on WOCE P-15S", International Marine Technicians Workshop (INMARTECH '96), Southampton England, Final Report.
Baker, E.T., Feely, R.A., Mottl, M.J., Sansone, F. T., Wheat, C.G., Resing, J.A., Lupton, J.E., "Hydrothermal plumes along the East Pacific Rise, 8° 40′ to 11° 50′ N: Plume distribution and relationship to the apparent magmatic budget", Earth and Planetary Science Letters 128 (1994) 1-17.
Larson, N.G. (1993) "Calibration of Oceanographic CTD Instruments: Methods and Traceability", Journal of Advanced Marine Technology Conference V7, 3-13.
Huyer, A. and P.M. Kosro, R. O'Malley, J. Fleishbein (1993) "Seasoar and CTD Observations during a COARE Surveys Cruise, W9211C, 22 Jan to 22 Feb 93, OSU Data Report.
Pedersen, A.M. and M.C. Gregg (1979) "Development of a small in-situ conductivity instrument", IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering V4(3), 69-75. (summary)
References to technical literature about oceanographic instrumentation and methods.
QARTOD Manual for Real-Time Quality Control of Dissolved Oxygen Observations (full manual)
Gregg, M.C. and T.B. Meagher (1980) "The Dynamic Response of Glass Rod Thermistors", Journal of Geophysical Research, V85(c5), 2779-2786. (abstract)
Pike, J.M. and F.L. Beiboer (1993) "A Comparison Between Algorithms for the Speed of Sound in Seawater", The Hydrographic Society, Special Publication No. 34. (link to information)
Poisson, A., M.H. Gadhoumi, and S. Morcos (1991) "Salinity and density of seawater: Tables for high salinities (42 to 50)", Unesco technical papers in marine science 62. (full article)
Wearn, R.B. and N.G. Larson (1982) "Measurements of the sensitivities and drift of Digiquartz pressure sensors", Deep-Sea Research, V29 (1A), 111-134. (abstract)
Note: Many Unesco marine science publications are available through Unesco's website. Go to http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ulis/ioc/.
- In the Series title box, select UNESCO technical papers in marine science.
- Select Widen the search to all UNESCO documents/publications.
- Click the Search button.
References to non-technical literature.
20,000 colleagues under the sea -- Article about gliders, which use Sea-Bird sensors.
The Economist
June 9, 2012A New Wave of Ocean Explorers -- Article about the Wave Glider, which uses Sea-Bird sensors.
Wall Street Journal
March 2012Sea-Bird Electronics: Small Beginnings, Global Impacts
Marine Technology Reporter
March 2012GO_SHIP.ORG
Interesting website with information on data acquisition methodsHydrocast Carousel
Discover Magazine
April 20, 2010 issueA brief overview of a CTD system
YouTube video on the R/V Wecoma
December 29, 2009Robot buoys are taking the ocean's pulse
Sandi Doughton, Seattle Times science reporter
April 2, 2008.Company Spotlight: Sea-Bird Electronics
Ocean News & Technology
Volume 14, Issue 2, March 2008.
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Sea-Bird Home Phone: (+1) 425-643-9866 E-mail: seabird@seabird.com