Development of an autonomous sea ice tethered buoy for the study of ocean-atmosphere-sea ice-snow pack interactions: the O-buoy

摘要

A buoy based instrument platform (the "O-buoy") was designed, constructed,and field tested for year-round measurement of ozone, bromine monoxide,carbon dioxide, and meteorological variables over Arctic sea ice. The O-buoyoperated in an autonomous manner with daily, bi-directional datatransmissions using Iridium satellite communication. The O-buoy was equippedwith three power sources: primary lithium-ion battery packs, rechargeablelead acid packs, and solar panels that recharge the lead acid packs, and canfully power the O-buoy during summer operation. This system was designed tooperate under the harsh conditions present in the Arctic, with minimaldirect human interaction, to aid in our understanding of the atmosphericchemistry that occurs in this remote region of the world. The current designrequires approximately yearly maintenance limited by the lifetime of theprimary power supply. The O-buoy system was field tested in Elson Lagoon,Barrow, Alaska from February to May 2009, and deployed in the Beaufort Seain October 2009. Here, we describe the design and present preliminary data.