By
Technology Editor Last updated: October 20th, 2023
Deepwater Profiling Float by Teledyne Marine
Profiling Floats
Profiling floats are autonomous underwater platforms that collect measurements in a vertical water column, such as temperature, salinity, and current movements. They use a pump to change their buoyancy in order to move up and down the column, and can be pre-programmed with depth profiles.
Many profiling floats use GPS to establish their position when at the surface, and transmit their data via satellite communications such as Iridium or Argos. They can usually make a few hundred dives to depths of several thousand metres, and are often treated as disposable.
Teledyne Valeport discusses the Valeport SWiFT Sound Velocity Profiler (SVP), which has evolved to meet the demands of autonomous marine operations, with enhanced capabilities such as increased depth rating and power-saving modes
The company’s RUBHY remote acoustic buoy can record and transmit underwater noise and other oceanographic data in real time at distances of up to 10 km
Teledyne Marine has provided NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with three APEX (Autonomous Profiling Explorer) profiling floats, which will be...