Dataset: vbs
Deployment: AL9607

The Greene Bomber is a ENDECO V-fin towed body with overall dimensions of length: 139.7 cm; width at front: 66 cm; width at rear: 142.2 cm; height: 48.26 cm. It is constructed primarily of fiberglass. Since the early 1990's it has been towed just below the sea surface with acoustic and environmental sensors to provide continuous profiles of the water column acoustic backscattering and target strengths from zooplankton with a size range of ~ 1.5 mm to 100 mm, and sea surface environmental properties (temperature, salinity, and fluorescence). It was first used with a BioSonics dual-beam acoustic system operating at 420 kHz and 1 MHz or 120 and 420 kHz. The environmental sensing system (ESS) was the ESS used on MOCNESS. In 1997 the acoustics were changed to a HTI acousitic system with 120 and 420 kHz transducers. In 2010, two additional HTI transducers (43 and 200 kHz) were added. For additional detail see:

Wiebe, P. and C. Greene. 1994. The use of high frequency acoustics in the study of zooplankton spatial and temporal patterns. Proc. NIPR Symp. Polar Biol. 7: 133-157.

Wiebe, P.H., D. Mountain, T.K. Stanton, C. Greene, G. Lough, S. Kaartvedt, J. Dawson, and N. Copley. 1996. Acoustical study of the spatial distribution of plankton on Georges Bank and the relation of volume backscattering strength to the taxonomic composition of the plankton. Deep-Sea Research II. 43: 1971-2001.

Wiebe, PH; Stanton, T K; Benfield, M C; Mountain, D G; Greene, CH. 1997. High-frequency acoustic volume backscattering in the Georges Bank coastal region and its interpretation using scattering models. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering22(3): 445-464.