Current-Powered Ocean Platform System New Home for Sontek® Dopplers

SAN DIEGO, CA — MARCH 7TH, 2014

Four SonTek Argonaut®-XR acoustic Doppler profilers were recently purchased by Memorial University of Newfoundland as part of a self-power generating ocean platform system that allows for longer deployments, without the challenge of frequent battery changes.

The Seaformatics Pod originated from a university R&D project and the team is now establishing a commercial venture. The Pod's design allows for long-term, real-time and wide-area monitoring of ocean currents. Its turbine harvests power from the ocean to recharge its battery pack - a highly sought after benefit for extended current and seismic monitoring studies.

The Argonaut-XRs will be mounted on individual pods and deployed as part of an array of second generation Pod prototypes in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. The array, consisting of four Pods, will collect three-dimensional current information using the Argonaut-XRs. The data will be retrieved via the acoustic network in real-time and made available to project collaborators through a web portal.