General

Profiling of the water column involves taking measurements throughout the water column to determine the water quality at different depths. This may be used to determine if stratification or some other phenomena of a water body is occurring. This type of series sampling may also involve taking water samples at various depths.

Protocol

Protocols for profiling can be found in Australian Standard AS/NZS 5667.1:1998
Standards Australia

Costs

Costs are dependant upon the parameters/analytes being measured.

Case studies

NOAA Ocean Explorer – Water Column Profiling
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/technology/tools/sonde_ctd/sondectd.html

Australian Antarctic Division
http://www.antdiv.gov.au/default.asp?casid=3385