Request For Information - Temperature from Depth

Early market engagement to request information.

The Met Office open ocean buoy network operates in the north Atlantic delivering regular meteorological measurements for forecasting and science. The buoys are in depths of 650m to 4500m and, as standard, report measurements every hour. The world's oceans hold a vast amount of energy in the form of heat. Measuring temperature profiles at our moored buoy locations will increase our understanding of the current state of the ocean, leading to better ocean and weather forecasts, particularly in the region around the UK.

The profiles will also help to quantify and understand longer term changes in our oceans and climate. We would like to investigate methods of taking as many temperature measurements from the water column at each of our sites as possible and report them back in regular messages. Temperature measurements must be accompanied by pressure (depth) measurements. Instrumentation can be incorporated into our existing mooring or on a separate mooring.

Our existing surface buoy can accommodate subsea communications equipment and can relay data via existing channels. We have 7 deep waters mooring which we wish to gather data on and visit each moored buoy every other year. We aim to service 3 per year, with one site serviced annually.

Please provide outline of solutions and costs by uploading any relevant documents to the Project DN602346 by using the link https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/supplying-the-met-office/procurement to our eTendering Opportunities Portal

Additional information: Request for information to be provided : • Descriptions of possible solutions • Estimated instrument life • Detail of the accuracy of temperature and pressure measurements. • Details to include expected drift over time. • Sample of schedule of regular data delivery suitable for the proposed solution. • Diagrams of the solutions • Power requirements for buoy mounted equipment • Max length of deployment for submerged equipment (drift, biofoul etc) • Relationship between data frequency and deployment length due to available power and options for increasing battery capacity • Use a 2000m site as an example (example of existing MO mooring supplied) • Estimated cost per mooring • Estimated costs per year for deployments for at least 2 years to fit with our servicing cycle and up to 4 years. • Total ballpark costs of the solution