The bucket thermometer is designed to sample only the upper few inches of the water.
A very accurate glass thermometer is held inside a sleeve with holes that fill right
from the water's surface. Enough water is retained to maintain the correct temperature
long enough to read it. This reading is taken as soon as the vessel is on station,
because the vessel itself affects the surface temperature near it.
 Both
the engines and the painted surface make the ship a heat island
at any time of year. The bucket temperature may be compared with
readings from the engine room chart and the CTD to learn more
about the upper few meters of an aquatic environment. It is the
closest ground-truth for satellite surface temperature data.
Below is a
table of temperature data collected using
various methods.
DATE |
JULIAN
DAY |
STATION
LOCATION |
BUCKET
(ºC) |
CHART
(ºC) |
CTD
1m (ºC) |
25 Mar
2003 |
84 |
GC 10m |
3.50
|
3.0
|
2.1 |
25 Mar
2003 |
84 |
GC 20m |
2.5
|
2.7
|
1.8 |
16 May
2003 |
136 |
GC 10m |
7.50 |
7.5 |
6.9 |
16 May
2003 |
136 |
GC 20m |
6.80 |
7.0 |
6.2 |
23 May
2003 |
143 |
GC 20m |
8.30 |
8.5 |
8.0 |
12 Jun
2003 |
163 |
GC 10m |
10.90 |
10.8 |
10.0 |
24 Jun
2003 |
175 |
GC 10m |
13.75 |
14.0 |
13.1 |
24 Jun
2003 |
175 |
GC 20m |
13.93 |
14.5 |
14.1 |
13 Aug
2003 |
225 |
GC 10m |
21.3
|
20.9
|
20.6 |
18 Aug
2003 |
230 |
GC 10m |
23.50 |
23.5 |
23.0 |
18 Aug
2003 |
230 |
GC 20m |
23.10 |
23.0 |
22.6 |
05 Sep
2003 |
248 |
GC 10m |
21.40 |
21.0 |
20.6 |
05 Sep
2003 |
248 |
GC 20m |
21.5 |
21.5 |
21.0 |
05 Nov
2003 |
309 |
GC 10m |
8.30 |
8.2 |
n/a
|
05 Nov
2003 |
309 |
GC 20m |
8.10 |
8.0 |
7.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related
web links:
 Links
to Near Real-Time Great Lakes Water Temperatures,
Wind/Wave Data, & Water Levels
|
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