Preface

This manual is meant to paraphrase the SEABIRD Inc instructions on using the SBE37sm probe.  It includes only those steps that are needed for eMOLT deployments.  If participants want to see SEABIRD's complete instructions, they are available as well in the form of a PDF document (assuming one has ADOBE Acrobat for reading).  It is assumed that participants have attended a one-day training session on the care and operation of these probes before reading this manual seriously. This will be the manual for that training session.

Note: Participants may not ever need to do this installation and/or change the batterries. The instrument should already be loaded with fresh batteries for your first deployment. You will probably be returning the instrument for post-calibration and refurbishing on a near-annual basis. Fresh batteries will be part of the refurbishing procedure.

If you ever do need to change the batteries, follow SEABIRD User Manual Instructions for installing batteries (page 13, 14, and 15) with my additional notes as follows:

• make sure you have a good selection of small phillip head screw drivers
• remove black plastic connection cap
• remove 2 phillips head screws from the side of the stainless housing
• pull (and maybe rock) the end cap off by pulling on white PVC
• undo the electric connection by pulling on the brown plastic
• unscrew the one phillip head and remove ...carefull to get the little lock washer that is on it.
• grab the handle and pull battery pack out
• unscrew the two tiny phillip heads and their lock washers
• install all six batteries pin down
• put the battery pack cap back on with the two tiny phillip head (this is not easy unless the batteries are well secured... if you strip the screws see spare part envelope) make sure the batteries are seated properly .. it is not easy to install the endcap otherwise ...carefull not to lose the small screws that hold the end cap (especially if you turn the assembly upside down in order to seat the batteries)
• reinstall the battery pack in the housing so that the while mounting guide is on the same as the other after connecting the 3-pin

• install software by inserting the supplied CDROM and clicking on the file called "Seasoft-Win32.exe"
• note: this puts the programs in c:\ProgramFiles\Sea-Bird
• note: this does not automatically put an icon on your wallpaper
• Undo the dummy plug on the end of the instrument by unscrewing the locking sleeve first
• attach supplied serial cable by lining up the instruments bigger pin with the bumps on the black plastic
• attach other end of serial cable to a serial port on your computer (you may need the supplied 25-to-9 pin adaptor)
• double click the "seaterm.exe" file
• select instrument as "sbe37" and correct com port  (this only is necessary the first time you communicate with the probe) and press ok
• click on the "connect" button on the toolbar (You should get a "S>" prompt. if not, read complete instructions (pages 16-20) and try Seaterm session again.)
• type "ds" to get a displayed status of this instrument
• set both date and time by entering the following commands:
• MMDDYY=mmddyy  (for example, enter: MMDDYY=092801 for sept 28th, 2001)
• HHMMSS=hhmmss
• set the sample interval and start logging
• INTERVAL=3600  (for sampling every 3600 second or one hour)
• SAMPLENUM=0 (to clear the memory)
• STARTNOW (to start logging data)
• QS
• exit from software
• disconnect instrument and reinstall dummy plug and locking sleeve securely
• secure instrument to trap with hose clamps and  tie wraps
• while the titanium should not corrode, avoid contact of dissimilar metals

• connect serial cable as instructed in the intialization steps
• double click the "seaterm.exe" file in c:\programfiles\Sea-Bird\seaterm directory
• click on the "connect" button on the toolbar (You should get a "S>" prompt. if not, read complete instructions (pages 16-20) and try Seaterm session again.)
• stop logging by typing at the S> prompt:
• STOP
• click "upload" on the toolbar
• may need to specify scan number to download at this point ... enter "1" for beginning scan and "XXX" for ending where XXX is the #scans noted on the display
• enter a filename in the dialog box with the following convention:  sXXXYYZZ  where XXX is the last 3-digits of the serial number, YY is the consecutive setting of this probe, and ZZ is the 2-digit site code.
• this will make an sXXXYYZZ.asc file on your hard disk
• continue to "Initializing the Probe" instructions above to prepare for the next deployment
• attach the asc file in an email to james.manning@noaa.gov along with the "Documentation of the Deployment" as described in the standard eMOLT manual.
• OPTIONAL steps to view your salinity data on your own computer
• install the "cnv37.exe" file on your own computer by:
• copy the "seasoft_dos" files from cdrom to some directory on your hard drive
• execute the sintall.bat routine
• execute "cnv37.exe"  to generate a .cnv file from the .asc file you made above
• specify filenames for input & output without extensions (ie do not put ".asc" or ".cnv" at end of filenames) but you may need to specify a directory prefix
• enter  "pressure" (depth of deployment) in Fathoms (NOT DB)
• execute "derive.exe"
• if you have your input file stored in a special directory you may need to copy the "demo.con" file to that directory
• specify "salinity" as an additional output variable to derive
• say ok to overwrite the cnv file you had made previously
• use any editor routine (like notepad.exe) to view your data
• use any spreadsheet package to plot columns in this cnv file  (I use a MATLAB routine.)

Water samples should be taken on a near-quarterly basis in order to validate the instruments performance. These samples will be sent  on a near-annual basis to Woods Hole (and then on to a lab in Narragansett RI)  to be read in a salinometer. This procedure is necessary to check for drift of the sensors and, in particular, bio-fouling of the conductivity sensor.

The length of line that came with the water sample uints was not sufficient for most of our deployments so the participant will needed to contact their association rep to resolve this problem (ie buy more nylon cord at local hardwares?).

Since it is not critical exactly when these samples are taken,  they are best done in flat calm slack tide conditions.

The procedure for sampling is taken from the water sampler webpage as follows:

 1. To set the trigger mechanisms, hold the sampler by the brass handle with triggers in the "up" position. Pull the cable attached to Plunger A outward and hook the loop over Trigger A. This will remove Plunger A from sampling chamber.

 2. After the loop is hooked over Trigger A, attach the other loop to Trigger B. This will remove Plunger B from sampling chamber.

 3. The water sampler is now cocked and ready to be lowered into the water sampler by the calibrated line until the desired depth is reached.

 4. While holding the brass messenger in one hand, steadily lower the water sampler by the calibrated line until the desired depth is reached.

 5. Hold the line in a vertical position over the sampler and release the messenger to travel down the graduated line. After the messenger trips the closing mechanism, the sample within the collection chamber is sealed from mixing with unsampled water.

       NOTE: A slight tug on the line after the messenger had been released signals the sampler has closed.

 6. Gradually pull the water sampler to the surface with the line and carefully rest sampler on level surface.

 7. Aliquots or portions of the sample are carefully taken by standing the water sampler upright on Plunger A and unclamping the outlet tubing. Partially remove Plunger B to prevent formation of a vacuum.

Note: each participant will be provided with several glass water bottles.
 

• Why?
• The instrument derives salinity based on the conductivity of the seawater.  When I redeployed one of these instruments in the NMFS Aquarium for nearly a week, it took that much time to flush out the apparently contaminated electodes. This may have been due to my using a 5 gallon bucket that  may have previously contained some chemical substance.  Or maybe the WoodsHole seawater I had immersed it in had some oil and or filth.  The week long deployment shown here  has suspect data and not in agreement with the YSI6000 record obtained along with it.  All three deployments of this Microcat in the aquarium are shown here where the 2nd deployment indicated bad data but the third deployment (after havings washed out the cell) recorded good data. After this experience, I wrote feedback to SEABIRD INC. Additional sampling in late fall 2001, showed fouling after a few weeks even when the unit was deployed in the Aquarium tank. The cell  obviously needs to be cleaned regularly.
• How and How often?
• Do NOT clean the conductivity cell with a brush. Do NOT stick anything up through the glass cell. Just rinse with fresh water as often as possible (my guess is at least every other week) for a minute or so with a deck hose. No pressure washing.
•  Depending on how well the instrument performs, we MAY need, regardless of  how dirty the cell appears, to  soak the instrument in a 1% solution of Triton X-100 for 30 minutes, drained, and flushed with warm, clean, di-ionized water.  To conduct this operation the unit may be taken home overnight. We will conduct this operation at training sessions and semi-annual downloading sessions if necessary.
• Whenever the cell is seriously contaminated with visible deposits, it requires an acid rinse.  This procedure is detailed on page 40 of the Seabird "user manual".  Depending on where the probe is deployed and the season deployed ,this may or may not be necessary. We will find out eventually but Dave Armstrong (Seabird) doubts it will be necessary.
• Do NOT clean or rinse the cell in any way when it is recovered for the last time prior to factory recalibration. This will allow the company to diagnos offset/drifts that are associated with cell condition.

• Jim Manning
• sets up instruments for first deployments & distribute to association reps
• instructs both administrators and participants  by providing a one day training & maitaining this manual on :
• on use & care of instruments
• deployment & data download procedures
• water sampling protocol
• processes final ".cnv" data file
• generate plots
• store data in database after salinity results are emailed
• provides glass water sample bottles
• sends collection of water samples to Narragansett, RI annually to be analyzed for salinity values

 
• Participants
• attends one full day training session
• read the SEABIRD SBE37 Microcat Manual
• deploy instrument at fixed location year round for at least three years
• fresh water rinse conductivity cell monthly
• take documented water sample monthly
• deliver water samples to NMFS Woods Hole in November (or defers duty to association rep)
• chooses one of the following options for semi-annual "download,soak, and reinitialization" (two hour process)
1. conducts entire download, soak, and  reinitialization at home after proper training
2. defers downloads, soaks, and reintializations to association representative along with 1/2 the $ compensation
3. hand deliver the instrument & documentation to Woods Hole
 
• Association Representatives
• attends one  full day training session at  & installs "SEABIRD/Microcat" software on Laptop
• read the SBE37sm  SEABIRD  Microcat manual
• provide feedback on how to make this manual simple yet complete
• quarterly checkups on participants water sampling effort & documentation
• if the participants chooses option 2 above,  conduct download, soak, and reinitialization operation on a semi-annual basis
• ship all instruments to Patrice in early November 2003 for periodic calibration/checkup

 
• Patrice Farrey
• orders equipment
• Seabird Microcats
• Water Samplers
• Nov 2003 Instrument Calibration/Cleanup
• contract SEABIRD for calibration of instruments in Nov 2003
• ship to Bellevue, Washington w/batteries and anti-fouling caps removed
• redistribute to participants at Jan Weekends and/or March Forums 2004