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Santa Barbara Channel - Santa Maria Basin Circulation Study

DRIFTER INSTRUMENTATION

The Drifters used in this study are similar to the Davis Drifter. The drifter consists of a submerged vertical tube which houses the electronics and battery. An antenna protrudes from the top of the tube and extends upward through the surface of the water. Four cloth vanes of total area 1.8 square meters are supported on rods that extend radially from the top and bottom of the tube. Four flotation elements are attached at the end of each rod by short lengths of nylon line.

The electronics consist of a controller with temperature circuit and transmitter. The transmitter allows the drifters to be located by orbiting satellites using the Argos system. This system locates the drifters several times each day, with positional accuracy varying between 150 m and 1000 m. The temperature circuit measures hourly averages of sea surface temperature accurate to 0.01 deg C. The drifters are programmed to run for 40 days after deployment.

The deployments have generally been made from small boats. The vessels and personnel of UCSB Marine Sciences have been instrumental to success of this project. A few of the deployments have been made from the R/V Sproul during mooring recovery and deployment cruises. Two deployments were made by helicopter.

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