Prototype of a self-contained tide gauge

Two self-contained tide gauge prototypes have been constructed and successfully tested. The gauges use a Vibrotron absolute pressure transducer to sense water pressure to an equivalent resolution of two millimeters from a maximum depth of 1000 meters. The power supply and recording system are adequate for installations of up to one year at a five minute sample interval. High resolution pressure measurements (<1cm) are limited in accuracy by the technique for applying temperature corrections to transducer data. The gauges are presently installed in the Arctic Ocean.