Real-time and omnidirectional observation of the ocean is of great significance in protecting the marine environment while enabling mankind to effectively develop and utilize marine resources. In particular, ocean currents and wind observation are very important in the observation of marine environmental quality. Ocean currents are the large-scale and relatively stable flow of seawater, which is one of the most important and universal forms of motion of the sea water, playing an important role in the stability of the global climate and ecological balance, and having many adverse effects on the livelihood and production of coastal people and the exploitation and utilization of the ocean. As a result, current measurement technology has been one of the main focuses of the oceanography. In addition, ocean wind observation has important significances in ensuring navigation safety, preventing disasters, assisting climate research, improving environmental protection and promoting resource exploitation and fisheries production.
Currently, ocean observation is mainly carried out by oceanographic buoys, unmanned vessel surveillance and satellite remote sensing. Ocean observation buoys, which have the longest history of development, can be mainly divided into two types; underwater observation buoys for specified points and surface drifting buoys that drift along the ocean current.
Of course, observations by unmanned ships and satellite remote sensing have been applied in ocean water measurement, but they cannot accurately measure ocean water at exact locations required by users, and real-time and long-term measurements are more difficult. In ocean water measurement using observation buoys, accurate measurement data can be directly measured and wirelessly transmitted in real time at any location required by observers.
Kim Chol Min, a researcher at the Faculty of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, analysed the influence of the yaw and pitch characteristics of observation buoys on the measurement of the direction of the ocean current and wind direction, proposed a simple and reasonable measurement method, and verified its effectiveness through simulations and experiments.
The simulations and experiments demonstrated high accuracy of ocean current and wind direction measurements. The absolute error of the ocean current direction measurement is less than 0.5%, and 16 wind directions were accurately measured.
For further details, please refer to his paper “One method to measuring ocean current and wind direction from marine buoys” in “Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology” (SCI).