Weather buoy deployment
29 November 2010 | Onslow Bay
Tina
The final(?) cruise for the Cape Hatteras in 2010 entailed deploying a NOAA weather buoy in Onslow Bay. After loading the buoy on the ship at the Morehead City State Port this morning we headed out to station (34 12.39N 076 57.06W). The buoy was lowed into the water first with the ship's crane. Then large chain that links the buoy to its weight is released in sections. Lastly an 8,000lb weight is lowed into the water using the stern frame and a quick release. The buoy transmits data to a satellite every 30 minutes. We stayed in the vicinity of the buoy to compare the weather data that the ship collects to the data that the buoy is collecting. After about 2 hours the data was confirmed multiple times and we are free to head back to the dock. The buoy collects wind speed and direction, air temperature, humidity, photosynthetically active radiation, sea surface water temperature, wave height and period, and surface current.
Weather: partly cloudy, 62 degrees, winds 15 knots, seas 3-4 feet