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Deployable equipment and instruments

Argo floats

Argo floats are autonomous robotic floats that can be deployed to repeatedly gather data about ocean conditions from the surface to 2000 m depth.

Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR)

The CPR is a plankton sampling instrument that can be towed from the ship while underway.

CTD instrument

The CTD is an instrument used to profile the conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) of the water column.

Deep towed and drop camera systems

The deep towed and drop camera systems are specialised underwater camera platforms used to capture high quality video and still images from the deep sea.

Moorings

Moorings are long anchored lines of scientific equipment and floats which are deployed to collect a range of ocean data over long periods (one year or more).

Nets

RV Investigator can deploy a range of nets (such as EZ and surface nets) to capture biological specimens in the water column.

Sediment coring

RV Investigator has a range of dedicated coring systems including a Long Core System, Kasten core and KC Multicorer. Other systems can also be brought on board by researchers.

Sleds and dredges

Dredges, sleds and grabs can be deployed from RV Investigator to collect biological samples, sediment and rocks from the sea floor.

TRIAXUS

The TRIAXUS is a towed undulating CTD instrument used to collect horizontal profile measurements of the water column.

Weather balloons

RV Investigator offers a platform for release of weather balloons and deployment of other airborne instruments to measure atmospheric properties.

XBT

An expendable bathythermograph (XBT) is a small, single-use probe that can be deployed from RV Investigator while underway.