Case Study: MetOcean Solutions explores the Southern Ocean with Sofar Ocean Spotter buoys

MetOcean Solutions tracks 6,500 km of Southern Ocean waves with Sofar Ocean

MetOcean Solutions, a science-based oceanography consultancy, sought to understand wave dynamics in the remote and stormy Southern Ocean, a region with a significant impact on the global climate system. The challenge was to deploy robust, long-lasting sensing technology capable of surviving the extreme conditions and collecting valuable data in this harsh environment. They partnered with Sofar Ocean and deployed their solar-powered Spotter wave buoys.

Sofar Ocean's solution involved deploying five Spotter buoys, which are lightweight, easy to handle, and solar-powered with a hibernation mode for the polar winter. These buoys successfully drifted over 6,500 km through the Southern Ocean for a year, measuring significant wave heights and providing the first-ever data set of its kind from this region. The data collected by Sofar Ocean's technology is freely available to the scientific community, revolutionizing the monitoring of remote ocean basins and greatly improving the understanding of Southern Ocean waves and their global climate effects.

MetOcean Solutions