Enhancing Oceanographic Profiling with a Valeport VA500 Altimeter

The VA500 is mounted on the underside of a CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) rosette. This setup enables the acquisition of profile data throughout the water column while mitigating the risks associated with equipment damage from seabed contact.

The quality of the data and the distance from the seabed that the team can see are dependent on the reflective qualities of the seabed. However, since they started using the VA500, the team has found it to be very reliable at giving them an accurate reading from 100 m off the seabed. Using an altimeter in this way is not new for the team, but the reliability of the VA500 to consistently detect the bottom from 100 m away has been an improvement to what they were used to with other altimeters.

Overall, the use of the VA500 has more reliably allowed the NOC team to perform CTD profiles closer to the seabed, collect  increased data,  whilst minimising the risk of equipment damage.