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24/7 Science at Sea

January 9, 2018

This buoy is part of a Coastal Surface Mooring, one of the ten scientific moorings in the Coastal Pioneer Array of the Ocean Observatories Initiative. Wind turbines and solar panels on the buoy’s surface recharge batteries inside it, sending power down the mooring line to the seafloor. Sensors on the buoys gather meteorological data on the atmosphere above the ocean, while underwater instruments attached to buoys, mooring risers, and anchor frames measure currents, temperature, and other seawater properties. The data collected by the moorings are transmitted back to shore via satellite in near-real time and made freely available online. (Photo by Véronique LaCapra, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)