Hydrographic Survey Conducted in the Florida Straits

AOML physical oceanographers and interns conducted a hydrographic survey along the 27th north parallel in the Florida Straits aboard the R/V F.G. Walton Smith on July 14-15 as a component of the Western Boundary Time Series project. These 2-day cruises are designed to calibrate daily estimates and quantify Florida Current volume transport and water mass changes.

Cruise participants also set adrift a series of messages in bottles written by Miami schoolchildren who attended AOML's Open House in May. These messages were cast into the Florida Current, a component of the larger Gulf Stream which travels northward from Florida to Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Messages written by local schoolchildren are bottled up and ready for deployment. Image credit: NOAA The R/V F.G. Walton Smith docked in Miami. Image credit: NOAA
AOML staff load the CTD onto the deck of the F.G. Walton Smith prior to departure. Image credit: NOAA AOML physical oceanographers and summer interns with the CTD on the back of the F.G. Walton Smith. Image credit: NOAA
Messages in bottles on the deck of the F.G. Walton Smith awaiting deployment. Image credit: NOAA AOML Intern Ciro Liutti gets ready to release a message in a bottle off the back of the F.G. Walton Smith into the Florida Current. Image credit: NOAA

 

According to drifter data, messages from local students could end up in Europe