O-STEAM Drifters Assist Cape Cod Bay Circulation Study

This October, four ocean drifters made by O-STEAM fellows were launched into Cape Cod Bay. The GPS transmitters on the drifters are tracking their paths in and around the Bay.

Our "live" map shows the last known drifter locations.

As a part of this summer’s O-STEAM fellowship program, Margaret Gregory, a fifth year PhD candidate in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program, spent a day with the ten fellows talking about how drifters can be used to study the transport of water within Cape Cod Bay. Then each fellow built their own drifter. Margaret is releasing four O-STEAM drifters each season to investigate if the seasonal differences we found using the model are reflected in ocean observations collected by the drifters, and she's blogging about it.

"With that knowledge, we will, in turn, be better able to predict the pathways of various possible environmental hazards or pollutants like red tide, microplastics, and a recent proposed release of wastewater from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station," she says.

The blog gives an inside look at how O-STEAM fellows built the drifters and the science questions we hope to answer with them. Check out this map to see the drifters's last know locations and stay tuned for news about our drifter launches this winter!