Development of a Self-Contained, Satellite Based, Moored Surface Buoy Position Tracking Device

In an effort to improve our understandings on the workings of the coastal ocean for a variety of environmental applications and to improve upon forecasts of storm surge for residents along the West Coast of Florida, the University of South Florida´s College of Marine Science (USF/CMS) established a real-time Coastal Ocean Monitoring Prediction System (COMPS) for the West Florida Shelf region. COMPS program assets consist of arrays of offshore buoys and coastal tidal stations for surface meteorology and in-water measurement of temperature, salinity, and currents. This instrumentation array reflects a substantial investment in equipment and effort. Although rare, conditions can arise in which the bottom moored offshore surface buoys can separate and drift freely. To prevent platform and equipment loss, several onboard methods have been used to determine and track the buoy´s position when necessary. This paper discusses the in-house development of a self-contained, satellite-based, moored surface buoy position tracking device.