I have been periodically checking in on the pairs of wave drifters we deployed during TEAL3. Although the wave data and other parameters collected as Hurricane Erin passed by 2 weeks ago will be an interesting story itself (8 m waves offshore!), here are just a few snapshots of the buoy drifts released from our four offshore stations. At each station, we deployed a pair of drifters (magenta diamonds) that remain close together for the first couple of days after release. They begin to have noticeable separation after about 7 days. The Gulf Stream influence is remarkable as the station 5C and and 5B drifters are essentially in the North Atlantic over a 2 week drift. The “inshore” pair, released at station 4 (600 m water depth) have turned into Long Bay and are floating at around the ~30 m isobath. The offshore pair, released at station 6 (1400 m water depth) are basically still around the latitude of Wilmington and are still a pair! I will be very curious to see the fate of these drifters as time moves on. Special shout-out to Dr. Martha Schonau and the SIO Lagrangian Drifter Laboratory for sending these to us. I hope to do more releases of this kind.
Seasick Suanda 