The Sea Profiler has sensors for chlorophyll concentration, conductivity, depth, temperature, and light. The instrument has been adapted to record the light data from a Biospherical Instruments PAR light sensor. A transmissometer is designed to accurately measure beam transmission in a 10 centimeter water path. A fluorometer measures chlorophyll-a concentrations. There are factory-installed preprogrammed calibrations for more than 120 common water quality tests.
Spectrophotometers are especially useful for nutrient studies.