Sea temperature bucket, Mk 3B, made by Meteorological Office Market Engineering, Bracknell, UK, 1997. Met reference no. 21580.
This bucket is a double-walled container made from two lengths of canvas-reinforced rubber hose, one inside the other. A brass handle is fitted to the top. It was designed to collect seawater samples from a ship, the temperature of which was then measured with Met Office thermometer Mk 3.
While simpler buckets had been used for around 150 years, it was difficult to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the data. The temperature of the bucket itself influenced readings, and sometimes the temperature of the sample or thermometer varied before the reading was made. Later bucket designs attempted to reduce this effect.
Details
- Category:
- Meteorology
- Object Number:
- 1999-204
- Materials:
- metal (unknown)
- Measurements:
-
overall (including handle): 460 mm x 92 mm 1.2 kg
- type:
- sea temperature bucket
- credit:
- Meteorological Office