Spear-F, A wave height spectrum buoy via ARGOS and the new IFREMER static wave directional sensor

For many years, the French Ocean Agency, now called IFREMER, has been developing and testing several buoys to measure wave height and direction. The new SPEAR-F buoy uses a Sande-Tukey Fast Fourier Transform algorithm to process the raw wave height data of a 0.70 meter diameter Waverider and transmits 30 selected period bands via the ARGOS system. At sea test results are presented. With its Waverider compatibility and the ARGOS location and transmission system, this buoy can help many users to study waves all around the world. The new static wave directional sensor, based on accelerometers and flux gate sensors has been tested at sea. Its principle and the first at-sea results are presented.