Every expedition has its heroes. Some are visible—wind, sails, landfalls. Others work quietly, beneath the surface, turning motion into knowledge. For our Sail for Science project, one such hero has been the RBRconcertoCTD.
A CTD system is more than an instrument; it is a translator between the ocean and science. Throughout two years of sailing from Canada to Panama, the ConcertoCTD has been our constant companion, allowing us to measure the ocean as it truly is—layer by layer, profile by profile. From coastal shelves to remote island anchorages, it has delivered high-quality observations of temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, fDOM, and backscattering optical properties in regions rarely sampled by traditional research vessels.
What makes the ConcertoCTD especially valuable for a sailboat-based expedition is its reliability, stability, and precision under non-ideal conditions. Life at sea is humid, dynamic, and demanding. Yet the instrument has performed consistently, maintaining excellent accuracy even after months of continuous marine deployment—confirmed through onboard salinometry and post-expedition quality control. This reliability is what makes citizen science credible.
Equally important is what the ConcertoCTD represents. Its use aboard SV Oceanolog demonstrates that modern oceanographic measurements are no longer confined to large ships and institutional platforms. With the right instrumentation and scientific rigor, small sailing vessels can become part of the global ocean observing system—collecting data with a minimal carbon footprint and at a fraction of the traditional cost.
On this #CTDappreciationDay, we celebrate not only a measuring system, but the role it plays in rethinking how oceanographic data collection can be done. Quietly, repeatedly, and accurately, the RBRconcertoCTD has helped turn a sailing voyage into a scientific expedition—and curiosity into contribution.
