PMEL Argo Float Laboratory: Instrument Management and Testing

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PMEL Argo Float LaboratoryInstrument Management
and Testing

• Donald Denbo
• Willa Zhu
• Greg Johnson
• Elizabeth Steffen
• Presented by Eugene Burger

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Outline

• Argo Program Overview
• Testing procedures
• Software Design
• Examples

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Argo Program Overview

• Global program to observe
• Changing state of the upper ocean.
• Patterns of ocean climate variability.
• Heat freshwater storage and transport.
• Array of 3,000 floats. Presently 2060 floats
  active - 68.7 complete.
• Basic measurements of temperature and salinity in
  upper 2000m.
• International in scope.
• Data freely available.

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Float Operation
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Float Testing

• Testing needs to cover basic operations of the
  float.
• Automate testing procedures
• Speed up operations
• Record all test data
• Guarantee all steps are completed
• Manage float metadata and administrative
  information.

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Tests

• Short Workout
• First check that transmitter is functioning
• Get CTD information
• Move piston in and out 4 counts
• Get voltage, current, and vacuum
• Air Bladder
• Pump air bladder
• Hold for 16 hours
• Verify bladder pressure hasnt dropped beyond
  specs.

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Tests (cont)

• Dock Test (before)
• Save mission parameters (up, down, ascend time,
  and transmission rep rate)
• Change mission parameters to test values.
• Dock Test (after)
• Move piston back to storage position
• Restore mission parameters
• Download from service ARGOS transmissions.
• Compute transmission statistics

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Tests (cont)

• Salinity
• Get CTD serial number and manufacturer from
  float.
• Get 50 temperature/salinity samples from
  reference head and test float.
• Compute statistics (in Matlab).
• Display results.
• Final Check
• Repeat short workout
• Option to change mission parameters

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Tests (cont)

• Shipboard Check
• Check voltage, current and vacuum
• Check mission parameters
• Test transmitter
• Check CTD serial number
• Move piston in/out 4 counts
• Check voltage, current and vacuum

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System Design
ARGOS
PostgreSQL
FloatLab
MySQL
Matlab
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Implementation

• Developed using Java version 1.4.2
• MySQL 4.1.x used for managing test and meta data.
• Apache telnet library used to communicate with
  ARGOS
• Serial I/O library serial-gtUSB converter
  purchased from SerialIO.
• Matlab version 7 used with Salinity tests.

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Summary

• Automated float testing
• Increases reliability
• Reduces workload
• Improves test quality