DANDELION: An ASV Deployed Micro-Profiler Array for Airsea Observation

The air-sea interface is vital in studying heat and energy exchange between the sea and air. The field observation technology of the air-sea interface is an effective way to explore the nature of the air-sea interface. This paper presents an observation system called DANDELION for the air-sea interface environment. The system includes an automatic surface vehicle (ASV), a launching device using a pair of high-speed rotating friction wheels, and eight dandelion-like micro profilers. This system can implement the environmental observation of the air-sea interface in an extensive range through micro profilers' rapid and multi-point placement. The DANDELION system was characterized by establishing the friction wheel launching mechanism model and summarizing the effects of different wings on the profiler performance. A series of experiments were conducted in Qiandao Lake, China, to characterize the DANDELION system. We demonstrate the developed system with data from field experiments, which show very high flexibility and feasibility to observe the air-sea interface, implying potential applications in ocean transient phenomena observation.