An Improved Salargos Buoy for Deployments in Polar Seas

An improved oceanographic and meteorological data collection buoy system called SALARGOS has been developed for deployments in polar seas for periods of up to two years. Recent Arctic deployments were made using spar buoys with 300 meter sensor strings each equipped with six temperature/conductivity sensor pairs. Data relay is carried out using the ARGOS capability of the two orbiting NOAA Satellites. The data throughput available in Arctic regions from the two satellites provides for high sampling rates when compared to buoys deployed in equatorial seas. Forty salinity points are currently being collected every hour. Three Arctic buoys are currently providing data to study internal wave activity as part of the NAVOCEANO Arctic Buoy Program.