Benchtop Depth Simulator Design for the Testing of Coastal Profiling Floats
Coastal Profiling Floats are autonomous mobile sensing systems that move up and down in the water column capturing data in coastal regions. Profiling floats are widely used throughout the ocean for purposes such as measuring ocean currents, salinity, and temperature. Using floats in coastal regions creates unique challenges not present in the open ocean. Coastal ecosystems have more things to crash into. It is therefore helpful to be able to simulate collisions and other unexpected events in a controlled environment. During my internship with MBARI in the Summer of 2017, I developed a benchtop simulation system using controllable air pressure valve. By plugging the output of this valve into the pressure transducer on the float, we can simulate the float moving up and down in the water column. This allows us to test the float’s response to unexpected events without having to deploy it in the ocean.