#saildrones — Public Fediverse posts

#Hurricanes can cause widespread destruction, so early #forecasting of their strength is important to protect people and their homes. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (#NOAA) is using #saildrones to get better data from inside these monster #storms.

The #drones looking inside explosively intensifying hurricanes https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20231026-the-mystery-of-why-hurricanes-suddenly-intensify

"No ship wants to find itself in the midst of a hurricane, so little data from the ocean-atmosphere interface exists from the eyewall—the worst of the winds. Getting this data using #saildrones can help improve hurricane intensity forecasts, said Greg Foltz, an oceanographer at #NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory." https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/06/drones-take-to-the-waves-saildrones-are-getting-data-where-people-cant/

Drones take to the waves: #Saildrones are #sailboat-like uncrewed surface vehicles (#USV) that travel oceans on wind and solar. Remote pilots who work for #Saildrone guide a saildrone via satellite commands, which provide a designated path, to get to a target waypoint. Drone's software autonomously adjusts wing to keep it on track (pilots cannot take direct control of it). Using only wind and ocean currents, saildrones cruise on average at about 3 knots, or about 3.5 mph.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/06/drones-take-to-the-waves-saildrones-are-getting-data-where-people-cant/