A Deep Dive into TERAMARA SUBS
Enhancing Data Set Quality from Moored Current Meters
Whether you’re working in the Coastal waters of the Torres Strait, out in the deep-sea offshore, or South, in the ice-prone regions of the Great Southern Ocean, marine conditions are hardly predictable and rarely perfect for consistent capture of quality data.
Engineered for precision and performance, TERAMARA’s SUBS (Streamlined Underwater Buoyancy System), ‘instrument buoys’, revolutionise oceanographic data collection. Where surface buoys are vulnerable to damage from waves, ice, or vessels, SUBS are positioned under the surface to mitigate exposure and enhance protection.
SUBS are purpose-built to accommodate ADCPs from Teledyne RD Instruments. Depending on the mooring configuration, additional instruments may be integrated, such as logging CTDs from AML, recovery beacons from Xeos, and acoustic releases from Edgetech and Teledyne Benthos.
Unlike traditional spherical buoys, SUBS have a streamlined, ellipsoid design significantly minimizing drag and vortex shredding, where flowing past an object is disturbed, creating little swirls off each side of the object, thus causing the object to vibrate. The design assists in the maintenance of instrument orientation and stability, leading to more accurate and reliable data collection in dynamic underwater environments. The design also contributes to the improved depth-keeping of the SUBS. This is crucial in minimising mooring excursions (displacement) and inclinations, further improving data accuracy.
Notably, the SUBS are self-compensating, meaning they naturally adjust to mooring angle and flow direction, reducing the need for complex mooring configurations with multiple anchor points, and line arrangement components.
TERAMARA SUBS are built with versatility in mind, with models available for shallow (200m) and deep (up to 6000m) water applications. Made from UV-protected HDPE and equipped with either floats or glass balls for buoyancy, their durable construction allows for long-term deployment in a range of challenging marine environments.
SUBS are deployed to enhance data quality, optimize mooring performance, and durability in harsh marine conditions where surface buoys are vulnerable to damage. TERAMARA SUBS are ideal for researchers and marine engineers who depend on reliable, low-maintenance platforms for long-term ocean monitoring.
For more information on the SUBS production by TERAMARA, please Contact the BlueZone Group sales team.
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SUBS Tandem with Centre Mounting Frame (Photo credit: TERAMARA).
