The SailBuoy remotely-controlled unmanned vessel: Measurements of near surface temperature, salinity and oxygen concentration in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

An experimental deployment of a new type of unmanned vessel is presented. The Christian Michelsen Research SailBuoy, a remotely-controlled surface vehicle, sampled near-surface properties during a two-month mission in the northern Gulf of Mexico in March–May, 2013. Averaged over the entire deployment, the vessel speed over ground was 42±30cm s−1 (± one standard deviation) with a maximum of 180cm s−1. During the 62 days of the mission, the...