Communications of the ACM
Ocean Drone Captures Video From Inside Hurricane
The Saildrone Explorer SD 1045 was directed into the midst of Hurricane Sam, a category 4 hurricane, battling 50-foot waves and winds of over 120 mph to collect critical scientific data.
Credit: Saildrone Inc.
An uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) built by California-based company Saildrone shot video from inside a hurricane as part of a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) project.
The Saildrone Explorer SD 1045 was piloted into the category 4 Hurricane Sam in the Atlantic Ocean, and collected real-time observations for hurricane prediction models.
Five saildrones operate in the Atlantic during hurricane season, gathering knowledge vital to improving storm forecasts.
The USVs supply data directly to NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.
NOAA's Greg Foltz said, "New data from saildrones and other uncrewed systems that NOAA is using will help us better predict the forces that drive hurricanes and be able to warn communities earlier."
From National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2021 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA
No entries found