CBLAST Hurricane Float Deployment - Coastal Observing Research and Development Center
Original (non-English) name
Acronym
CBLAST Hurricane Float Deployment - CORDC
Citation
Abstract
Welcome to the CBLAST Hurricane Float Deployment and Information Site.
Nine specialized oceanographic instruments designed and built at Scripps Institution of Oceanography were air deployed 24 hours in advance of Hurricane Frances using C130J aircraft flown by the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (better known as the Hurricane Hunters). The instruments are designed to profile the upper 200m of the ocean every 4 hours with specialized sensors during extreme weather events. The success of these instruments leverages Scripps developed expertise from building and deploying hundreds of similar profiling instruments that are designed to operate in the upper 2000m of the ocean for global climate studies.
All 9 CBLAST hurricane floats successfully survived their air deployment, and operated through Hurricane Frances which was at the time a category 4 storm (surface winds ranging from 131-155 mph). The floats continue to operate and report back their position along with information regarding the ocean's temperature and salinity. Additional sensors for measuring the ocean surface waves, dissolved gases, and the underwater sound field internally record their data. A cruise is scheduled between September 25 - October 12 on an oceanographic research vessel to recover the instruments.