WireWalker
Product Number：RSI WireWalker
Turbulence Microstructure Measurements from a Wave Powered Profiler
WIREWALKER™
Turbulence Microstructure Measurements from a Wave Powered Profiler
The Wirewalker™ (WW) profiling vehicle, developed by the Ocean Physics Group at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), provides a platform for observing oceanographic phenomena that vary rapidly in depth and time. The smooth, “free rising” mode of operation of the WW makes it a suitable platform for the measurement of small scale turbulence. A collaborative attempt between SIO and Rockland to gather estimates of microstructure and the dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy was carried out in the summer of 2012 using a WW and a Rockland MicroRider-1000 turbulence instrument.
The WW platform provided a unique opportunity for Rockland to test the performance of the MicroRider for fast and repetitious autonomous profiles in a single location, observing the time evolution of turbulence features in the water column.
The Wirewalker™ system consists of a positively buoyant vehicle that is driven along a wire by surface waves. The wire is used to suspend a ~10Kg subsurface weight from a surface float (typically 0.5m diameter). The float-wire-subsurface weight assembly moves vertically with surface waves, while a cam mechanism inside the vehicle rectifies that two-way motion into one direction motion (downwards). Once the bottom stop is encountered, the cam mechanism is mechanically disengaged, and the positively buoyant vehicle rises to the surface, completely decoupled from the wire. With this method, high quality ocean turbulence data can be collected on each upcast.
Wirewalker™ with MicroRider-1000 turbulence package
Turbulence Microstructure Measurements from a Wave Powered Profiler
The Wirewalker™ (WW) profiling vehicle, developed by the Ocean Physics Group at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), provides a platform for observing oceanographic phenomena that vary rapidly in depth and time. The smooth, “free rising” mode of operation of the WW makes it a suitable platform for the measurement of small scale turbulence. A collaborative attempt between SIO and Rockland to gather estimates of microstructure and the dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy was carried out in the summer of 2012 using a WW and a Rockland MicroRider-1000 turbulence instrument.
The WW platform provided a unique opportunity for Rockland to test the performance of the MicroRider for fast and repetitious autonomous profiles in a single location, observing the time evolution of turbulence features in the water column.
The Wirewalker™ system consists of a positively buoyant vehicle that is driven along a wire by surface waves. The wire is used to suspend a ~10Kg subsurface weight from a surface float (typically 0.5m diameter). The float-wire-subsurface weight assembly moves vertically with surface waves, while a cam mechanism inside the vehicle rectifies that two-way motion into one direction motion (downwards). Once the bottom stop is encountered, the cam mechanism is mechanically disengaged, and the positively buoyant vehicle rises to the surface, completely decoupled from the wire. With this method, high quality ocean turbulence data can be collected on each upcast.
Wirewalker™ with MicroRider-1000 turbulence package
MVI_8565.MOV from Tyler Hughen on Vimeo.