Liquid Robotics' Wave Glider UUV got a front-row seat to Hurricane Sandy. The system, called Mercury, transmitted weather data in real time through winds up up to 70 knots off the coast of Toms River, NJ.



"Mercury now joins the fleet of other Wave Gliders that have come through Category 1 hurricanes to successfully fulfill their missions," said Dr. Edward Lu, chief of innovative applications for Liquid Robotics, in a press release. "This is a testament to our robust and reliable technology and proof of its readiness for severe weather data collection."



But Liquid Robotics public relations chair Joanne Masterson says sending Mercury into the path of the storm was largely an accident. The system was originally functioning as part of a joint project with Sonardyne, Rutgers University and the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System. Its original purpose was to demonstrate the use and cost effectiveness of the system for advanced ocean measurement and enhanced tsunami detection.



"We tried to get it away, but Sandy was just so massive," said Masterson. "But it loved it. It performed providing real-time data every 10 minutes."



In an AUVSI webinar, Suneil Thomas, vice president of strategic partnerships at Liquid Robotics, said the Wave Glider gathered barometric pressure data during the storm. According to the company, Mercury reported a drop in barometric pressure of more than 54 mbars; the storm was a low 946 mbars as it reached landfall.



Mercury also gathered information about the storm's wind speeds. On average, a Wave Glider travels through the water at about 1.5 knots. But due to Sandy's high winds, Mercury's speed doubled to 3 knots.



"If you have a system like the Wave Glider that can actually be on the surface during a hurricane ... this actually can provide some invaluable data for meteorologists to gain additional data on the hurricanes," Masterson said.