ARGOS DRIFTING BUOYS

Surface-following Davis/CODE drifter hull, available in two color schemes. High visibility colors help prevent shipstrikes and aid in retrieval, low-visibility colors minimize nuisance pickup of drifters by boaters.

Long duration hull used with deep drogue.

Overview

Brightwaters Argos drifters are current-following (Lagrangian) drifting buoys. They are released in a body of water and move with the currents over a period of days, weeks, or months. Onboard electronics transmit a radio signal that is detected by the ARGOS satellite network, giving sensor data and location of the drifters several times per day anywhere in the world. Lagrangian current data provided by Argos drifters are useful in current measurement, oil spill or floating debris tracking, discharge dispersement calculations, and similar studies.

Models

Brightwaters manufactures three types of Argos drifters:

Model 111 Argos drifter. Our most economical drifting buoy with location determination using an Argos PTT transmitter.
Model 114 Argos data drifter. Argos drifter with data capability. Up to eight sensor channels can be digitized and telemetered through the Argos data channel.
Model 110 Argos time series data drifter. Argos drifter with internal storage and time series telemetry. The internal microprocessor stores and telemeters an even time series of data from buoy sensors.

Buoy sensors available on the Model 110 and 114 include:

Battery voltage.
Sea surface temperature.
Inductive conductivity/temperature.
Waterproof connector for external (user-supplied) sensors.

All models can be programmed with a suicide timeout that shuts the Argos transmitter down after a selected number of days to minimize unwanted satellite access charges.

Physical characteristics

Two types of physical configurations are manufactured

Davis drifter. Drifter design is similar to the Coastal Ocean Dynamics Experiment (CODE) drifter developed at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. This design (also known as a Davis or SCULP drifter) provides excellent coupling to the surface layer and exhibits little wave rectification. The drifter is small and light and is easily deployed and retrieved by hand. An optional conversion kit allows the drifter to be changed to a deep drogued configuration in the field.
Long duration drifter. Modified CODE design for use with deep drogue. Cables and connections are optimized for resistance to chafing and fatigue from wave action.

Serviceability

Unlike most competing products, our drifters are designed to be reused. Although Brightwaters offers complete refurbishing services, most routine maintenance can be accomplished by the end user. The drifter hull can be opened to change batteries. Replacement battery packs are simple to make locally or can be ordered from Brightwaters. External parts such as sails or floats are easily replaced if damaged.

Downloadable data sheet

The following data sheet (containing high resolution graphics) can be viewed and printed using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Note: use of Version 4 or higher of Acrobat Reader is recommended for best results.

Argos drifter data sheet (PDF file, 236 kB).

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