A Low-Cost, Expendable Helicopter-Deployed Buoy for Ocean Surface Meteorological Measurements

A low-cost, expendable, helicopter-deployed, wave- riding buoy has been developed to measure meteorological properties at sea. The buoy weighs 8.2 kg and is 1.3 m long and 8.9 cm in diameter in its stored configuration. After deployment, the buoy extends a 2.5-m sensor mast above the water and an 3.8-m ballasted keel below the water. Buoyancy is provided by an inflated air bladder. An airsonde electronics package that measures relative humidity, barometric pressure, and air temperature transmits the data via a UHF transmitter to a receiver on a helicopter. The received data are displayed and recorded in the helicopter. The buoy is simple to construct, uses off-the-shelf hardware, and requires very few, easily machined components.