DISCOVERER is very well equipped with scientic instrumentation. These instruments range from Precise Positioning GPS to a hull mounted ADCP. The vessel can chart the bottom with the SEABEAM swath charting system and can sample the stratosphere with a VAISALA upper air sounding system.
DISCOVERER maintains a sensor suite of 20 "parent" sensors which measure or compute nearly 100 different variables. Additional sensors are added as specified by the project. The four main types of data are:
| Sensor | Description |
|---|---|
| NAVIGATION DATA | |
| Trimble GPS | Precise Positioning GPS |
| MAGNAVOX MX4200 GPS | Standard GPS Receiver |
| MAGNAVOX MX200 GPS | GPS Receiver/Navigator |
| ASHTEC 3DF | Heading, Pitch, Roll GPS |
| AMETEK SPEED LOG | Doppler Speed Log |
| SHIPS GYROCOMPASS | Heading |
| METEROLOGICAL DATA | |
| BAROMETER | Digital Barometric Pressure |
| RM YOUNG MET SENSORS Met sensors can be averaged to get maximum, minimum values. | Air Temperature Relative Humidity Relative Wind Speed Relative Wind Direction |
| TRUE WIND SPEED | Calculated from relative wind. |
| TRUE WIND DIRECTION | Calculated from relative wind. |
| VAISALA MRS Unit | Upper air radiosonde launches. |
| OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA | |
| SEABIRD TSG Hull mounted thermosalinograph | Sea Surface Temperature Sea Water Conductivity |
| SEABIRD 911 CTD CTD Package monitored real-time through conductive winch cable. | Package Depth Sea Water Temperature Sea Water Conductivity |
| SEABEAM Depth | Deep water center beam echo sounding. |
| WINCH DATA | |
| MARKEY WINCH Oceanographic Winch readout Primarily used for CTD casts | Wire Out Rate Tension |
DISCOVERER is equipped with a General Instruments SEABEAM swath sonar system. This system was originally used for high accuraccy charting of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This sixteen beam system is designed for deep water bathymetric surveying. The system regularly operates in 5000 meters of water but is effective in shallower applications. The swath of coverage on the ocean floor is approximately 75% of the water depth.
The SEABEAM system is operated using a menu driven FORTRAN program which incorporates CPS1 plotting package. Real time trackline monitoring is displayed on a ZETA plotter and postprocessing produces contour plots and smoothed plots of the area charted.
In addition to the wide array of sensors integrated into the SCSsystem, not all instruments aboard are presently tied into the system, either because it is impractical or due to incompatability.
A hull-mounted RDI four beam Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) runs continuosly. The data is displayed on a PC screen in theComputer Room.
DISCOVERER utilizes SEAPLOT software on the bridge, as an aid to navigation.
A shallow water dual frequency Simrad EQ-50 is located on the bridge. The instrument has high and low frequencies and is most effective in water depths less than 1000 meters. This instrument can also be used as a "fish finder" or to detect acoustic returns below the vessel.