Old Man Winter

On the buoy we need to power a package of oceanographic instruments, a winch to move the instruments in the water column, a weather station, an on deck computer, and a communication system.  All these aspects of the buoy are powered by four 12 volt marine batteries.  The batteries are wired into two 24 volt battery "banks."  By utilizing solar and wind power we are able to maintain a charge on batteries.

Wind Generator 

 During the winter months our days are shorter and the sunlight is less intense.  That means less power delivered to the buoy and in response we need to decrease our sampling frequency.  We do get some pretty windy days in the winter though which can at times compensate for the lack of sunlight. 

During these winter months we are busy chasing power issues while trying to keep up with the maintenance of all the buoys.

Morning Commute