Along the route from the Iberian Peninsula to St. John's 16 drifters SVP (Surface Velocity Program) will be launched to the sea. These small spherical buoys with a blue hull are attached to a 40cm-diameter drogue that is centered at a depth of 15 meters below the sea surface. SVP buoys measure salinity and temperature at the sea surface and air pressure. Their drift give us an estimate of the surface currents. They are equipped with a transmitter that sends the data to passing satellites in real time. In the following pictures and video are the details of its launch. Click in the following link to view the video.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15011065/Lanzamiento%20boya%20meteorologica.MOV

The SVP drifter is ready to be deployed

Stéphane and Bruno preparing the SVP deployment.

The SVP drifter at sea