4 ms·

How does one keep a bouy moored in 5km deep water?

• jagged-chisel 7y ago
  5.1km cables.
  • saagarjha 7y ago
    That would allow for quite a bit of drift–a kilometer in each direction.
    • jagged-chisel 7y ago
      Three of them, set in different directions. I’m not saying that’s definitely how it’s done, but it’s how I’d think to do it with nothing other than my naïve geometric education.
      • tjoff 7y ago
        Sounds quite expensive. Not sure if the exact position of the buoy is considered that important.
    • JadeNB 7y ago
      How?
      • mkl 7y ago
        Pythagorean Theorem: distance = sqrt(5.1^2 + 5^2) ≈ 1.005km. With the actual depth, 4.94km, not 5km, 5.1 km would give distance = sqrt(5.1^2 + 4.94^2) ≈ 1.267km.
        • JadeNB 7y ago
          I guess you meant -, not +. Indeed, though I know the relevant formula, my intuition so violently failed me that I didn’t even calculate it before deciding it couldn’t be so large.
          • mkl 7y ago
            Doh, yes!
    • mumblemumble 7y ago
      In practice, it's often more. A swing radius of several nautical miles is fairly normal. My knowledge is rusty, but, IIRC, for a shallow water mooring buoy you assume a radius of about half the water's depth. I'm not sure if there's a similar rule of thumb for deep water buoys.
• CalChris 7y ago
  It’s moored with a 16,210 foot cable. It is a weather station as well. https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=13010 https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=13010 The mooring itself allows for some sway due to current. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooring_(oceanography) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooring_(oceanography)
• JadeNB 7y ago
  From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_buoy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_buoy (linked from the Null Island article): > Moored buoys are connected with the ocean bottom using either chains, nylon, or buoyant polypropylene.