Air-deploying wave buoys ahead of hurricanes to collect real-time data and protect coastal communities

Join MTS Member Sofar Ocean, on Thursday, December 5th, at 10am PT to learn how Sofar and its NOPP NHCI partners air-deploy wave buoys ahead of major hurricanes to make real-time observations of extreme conditions. This ground truth data helps coastal communities and government agencies, such as the National Hurricane Center (NHC), better understand, predict, and prepare for major storms.

• The successful air-deployment of 100+ Sofar Spotter buoys, APL-UW microSWIFTs, and other sensors in the path of major hurricanes from 2022 to 2024.
• Compelling in situ data collected by the airdropped buoys near the eye walls of multiple hurricanes, including ~70 foot waves observed during Hurricane Helene in 2024.
• The deployment of experimental Submersible Spotters, as well as cross-shore transects of moored wave and water level sensors, to collect additional data near the coast.
• How coastal communities, other NOPP NHCI collaborators, and government agencies like NHC use real-time buoy data to improve extreme storm prediction and bolster early warning systems.

Presenters:

• Evan Shapiro: Co-founder and CTO (Sofar Ocean)
• Eric Stackpole: Bristlemouth Developer (Sofar Ocean), Co-star (OceanXplorers, National Geographic)
• Jim Thomson: Senior Principal Oceanographer (Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington)
• Jenna Brown: Research Oceanographer (USGS)