A surface buoy serves as the communications hub between the seafloor and shore-based researchers using the new, acoustically based observatory. The buoy is packed with meteorological instruments (measuring winds, temperatures, humidity, and atmospheric pressure), a solar power system, back-up batteries, a Global Positioning System receiver, and two Iridium satellite systems. R/V Atlantis floats in the background. (Courtesy of Dan Frye, WHOI)[back]
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