Hurricane Season Survival

Several AXYS Technologies metocean buoys deployed in seas plagued with extreme weather have survived an exceptionally rough hurricane season this year. Hurricane Karl was the most destructive hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. It crossed the Caribbean and hit the AXYS 3 Metre buoy deployed off the East coast of Mexico on 14th September. Data from the buoy shows a major pressure drop followed by 10m waves with 11 second period and winds averaging 30m/s with gusts up to 40m/s. The AXYS buoy performed flawlessly for the duration of this storm, continuing to report data in real-time via satellite telemetry to the end user.

Hurricane Igor was a massive, long-lived Category 4 hurricane that passed through Newfoundland 21st September, causing extensive damage. Two three-metre buoys and one WatchKeeper buoy that make up the SmartBay network located in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland experienced very high winds and saw waves exceeding six metres. As the hurricane rolled in, the buoys sustained no damage and continued to send real-time weather data over satellite telemetry to the Marine Institute at the Memorial University in Newfoundland.

"These buoys are built to survive extreme weather conditions, and have proved to be reliable data collection systems for their users throughout this particularly violent hurricane season," says Don Bryan, Marine Systems Manager at AXYS Technologies Inc.