Development and prototyping of an autonomous, low-cost oceanographic drifter buoy with real-time global bi-directional satellite communication capabilities

This project designed and prototyped the electronics payload of an oceanographic drifter buoy relying on low-cost off-the-shelf hardware. The prototype drifter buoy, called "PISCES-A", featured bi-directional Iridium satellite communications capabilities that allows users to modify in real time the buoy's data collection and data transmission frequency and configuration, even after its ocean deployment. After being built, PISCES-A was deployed in the N. Pacific Ocean during a NOAA oceanographic research cruise, where it collected real time and archived oceanographic data (latitude & longitude, velocity, heading, sea-surface temperature, sea-surface salinity) and system diagnostics information (voltage, internal humidity, internal temperature). The buoy hardware cost $931, and yielded high resolution in situ oceanographic data. Comparisons with satellite-based sea-surface height and sea-surface temperature data showed good agreement between the locations of the mesoscale oceanographic features, regional surface currents and sea-surface temperatures (average difference of 0.31° C). The drifter buoy demonstrated the impact that carefully engineered, low-cost electronic systems can have in the sciences, particularly within the field of physical oceanography.