Trials of an autonomous profiling buoy system

Abstract

In June 2013 the Institute of Marine Sciences of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISMAR) started the test phase of one of the few Mediterranean autonomous profiling systems, produced by NiGK Corporation, installed in a mooring configuration, transmitting daily hydrological vertical profiles in real time through satellite communication. The selected site is the Corsica Channel, a narrow passage between the Corsica and Capraia islands connecting the two main regions of the western Mediterranean: the Tyrrhenian and the Liguro-Provençal basins. During the test phase of this new instrument a continuous monitoring of the upper 181 m of the water column was performed, with more than 90% of successful satellite transmissions. The high-quality data received have been processed and analysed. The data collected confirmed our previous hydrological knowledge of the Corsica Channel, allowing us to observe in real time the variable and significant behaviour of the channel.