Expendable air-deployable floats for upper ocean measurements
PI: Knut Streitlien, Apeiron Labs, Inc.
Partners: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Sub-mesoscale meanders and eddies, occurring at spatial scales of 10-100 km, are fundamental to both horizontal and vertical heat transport mechanisms in global ocean systems. Despite their critical role, these phenomena remain inadequately characterized due to their inherent spatiotemporal variability and the constraints of today’s measurement platforms, which provide slow, sparse, and sporadic coverage. As computational models of intermediate-scale ocean dynamics continue to advance in sophistication and capability, corresponding improvements in subsurface measurement methodologies are essential. This project has two objectives. The first is to demonstrate a drone-launched expendable float that is capable of measuring conductivity and temperature as a function of depth up to 400 meters over several months to provide dense 3D measurements within sub-mesoscale ocean features. We are using drone-launch as a proxy for air launch from aircraft. The second objective is to present a design package that shows a feasibility roadmap to achieving the eventual cost objective of $1000 in modest quantities.