An Expendable Buoy (X-Spar) for Measuring Air-sea Interaction in Support of the NISKINE DRI
Abstract
This proposal requests support to move a new instrument concept known as the X-Spar from prototype status to operational instrument, with possible field deployment in support of the NISKINE DRI and subsequent air-sea interaction studies. The X-Spar concept is a free-drifting spar buoy with ability to support a variety of sensors that observe processes contributing to air-sea interaction. The system proposed here will carry a meteorological direct covariance flux system (DCFS, for estimating air-sea stress and heat flux) and associated bulk observations (for air temperature, pressure and humidity), shortand long-wave radiation sensors (for estimating those contributions to air-sea heat exchange), wavesensor( s) (for 1-D as well as directional surface wave spectra) and T/C sensors (that will return upperocean temperature and salinity observations). As such, the X-Spar instrument system will provide atmospheric forcing and wave data that, as described within the proposal, will be of higher quality than are obtainable from ships, surface gliders, or traditional buoys. Importantly, this new autonomous platform will capture high frequency atmosphere-ocean coupling without the need for a fixed buoy or extensive research vessel time. Data from X-Spar buoys will improve understanding of air-sea interactionphysics and improve bulk-formula-type air-sea flux parameterizations; both aspects of this research leading to increased skill of operational/predictive models. A principal design goal for the system we envision is to make it sufficiently low cost as to be considered expendable, hence the device???s name: XSpar. The following describes the X-Spar and its instrument systems followed by an overview of our proposed work under this proposal, an estimated time line, and a budget.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 04, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141812813
Entities
People
- Carol Anne Clayson
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution