ADCP Buoys & Floats

Spherical ADCP Buoys & Flotation for Subsurface Oceanographic Moorings

Mooring Systems, Inc. manufactures spherical shaped subsurface buoyancy for ADCP buoy applications with integral stainless steel instrument mounting frames, or with single strength members for use as primary or back-up mooring flotation.

Spherical buoys with internally mounted instruments will greatly reduce current drag and improve mooring performance. ADCP transducers and other sensors can be better directed up to the surface when mounted inside the well of syntactic buoys. Using a fewer number of floats by increasing the diameter of the float will also greatly reduce horizontal drag. The cross sectional area affected by ocean currents is smaller when using fewer larger floats with equal buoyancy to that of many small floats.

Example:

35″ diameter float rated for 1000m and buoyancy of 450 lbs. is equal in buoyancy to (8) 17″ diameter floats. As you can see, (1) 35″ float will have far less drag than (8) 17″ floats.

Features:

• Syntactic Composite Buoyancy Material
• Standard & Custom Instrument Frame Designs
• Unobstructed Transducer Beams (Doppler Profilers)
• High Strength, 5,000 & 10,000 lbs. (2,273 kg & 4,545 kg)
• Integral Pressure Case Clamping Bands
• Type 316 Stainless Steel Frame Construction
• Corrosion Resistant with Isolation Bushings & Anodes
• Electro-Polished Stainless
• Single Strength Members in Stainless or Galvanized Steel

Ellipsoid-shaped Low Drag Buoys & Flotation for Subsurface Oceanographic Moorings

Mooring Systems, Inc. manufactures an ellipsoid-shaped subsurface buoy that provides a lower drag coefficient than traditional shaped spherical buoys. The ellipsoid buoy improves mooring performance by reducing lay down caused by water currents. Ellipsoid shapes are more predictable and have lower risk than other non-spherical buoyancy modules.

Configurations are offered with single strength members as general mooring flotation, or with integral stainless steel instrument frames. During mooring recovery operations, ellipsoid-shaped buoys provide excellent vertical position of beacons unlike spherical buoys with unbalanced instrument payloads that roll in ocean waves.

Features:

• Syntactic Foam for Deep Water
• Internal Plastic Floats for Shallow Water
• Standard and Custom Instrument Frame Designs
• Unobstructed Beams (Doppler Profilers)
• High Strength, 5k & 10k lbs. (2,300 kg & 4,500 kg)
• Type 316 Stainless Steel Frame Construction
• Electro-Polished, Isolation Bushings
• Galvanized or SS Single Strength Members

Steel Subsurface Floats for Mooring Buoyancy

Mooring Systems, Inc. manufactures steel flotation spheres for use in shallow water oceanographic mooring applications. Steel spheres have been in use for over 30 years and continue to provide benefits to oceanographers and marine engineers for long term deployment of instrumentation and sample collection apparatus.

Improve Mooring Performance : Steel floats are larger in volume than alternative plastic and glass floats, providing greater buoyancy per float. This advantage translates to better mooring performance as fewer floats for the same given buoyancy will result in lower drag.

Features:

• Internal Steel Strength Member
• Two Mooring Attachment Points
• Lifting Point with Large Ring for Easy Pick-Up
• Zinc Anodes for Corrosion Protection
• Sandblasted Prior to Applying Coating
• Coated with Zinc Rich Primer
• Top Coated with Marine Epoxy Paint