Deployment of a syntactic foam sphere with an
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, radio beacon and Argos transimtter.
FLOTATION
The uppermost part of a subsurface mooring is the flotation package. The flotation package serves two purposes: first, it provides the lift required to keep the mooring vertical and taut in the water column and second, it is the component that raises the mooring back to the surface once the mooring is released from the anchor. The flotation package usually has a radio beacon and light strobe, or an Argos transmitter attached to it to aid in locating the mooring on recovery. There are two principle types of flotation used today: glass spheres and syntactic foam buoys. Glass floats are made of 1-inch thick glass spheres that are vacuum sealed and protected by a plastic hard hat. Each sphere can lift 55 pounds and can withstand pressures down to 6700 meters. We use approximately 20 glass spheres on a basic sediment trap mooring. Syntactic foam buoys are custom made to meet specific depth and buoyancy requirements. They are also capable of housing additional instrument packages like a current meter or CTD.
Deployment of a syntactic foam sphere with an
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, radio beacon and Argos transimtter.