1. Pacific Gyre Digital Minimet Drifters Hurricane Rita 2005 DBCP 21 October 17 th -18 th Buenos Aires, Argentina

2. Minimet Information Standard SVP sensor package with addition of barometer, wind direction, and wind speed sensors Uses underwater hydrophone to measure acoustic ambient noise which is used to calculate wind speed

3. Deployment Information 20 Minimets deployed –12 Standard Minimets –8 T-Chain Minimets Deployed on September 21, 2005 Deployed just south of Hurricane Rita path

4. Deployment Tracks

5. Divergence from Prediction

6. Close-up Tracks

7. Deployment Statistics All 20 drifters survived deployment All 20 transmitted throughout hurricane Awaiting comparison with SCAT data to calibrate accuracy of wind sensors Complete data set for all Minimet sensors

8. Barometric Pressure

9. Sea Surface Temperature

10. Wind Direction

11. Wind Speed

12. 2005 Highlights 2004 data compared to SCAT satellite Reverted to previous tether –Multi-conductor cable –Single battery pack More extensive at sea testing prior to deployment New design of packaging to withstand forces of air deployment Higher deployment success rate

13. 2004 SCAT Comparison

14. Air Deployment Packaging

23. Test Deployments