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Here’s Mike about to drop an XCP (eXpendable Current Profiler) in a lead. These measure the change of ocean currents from the surface to the ocean bottom. They were invented at the Applied Physics Laboratory, and are now manufactured by Sippican, Inc. of Marion, Massachusetts. Once dropped in the water, the XCP floats for about 30 seconds, then it releases a smaller torpedo-shaped sensor that sinks through the water while sending data back up through a very thin wire to the antenna in the floating unit. It’s a single-use instrument, i.e., an expendable.
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