To see GoogleMap plots of this year's tracks, click here.
To see drifter newsletters, click here.
To blog about students deploying drifters with our MATE colleagues, click here.
To see static plots of this year's tracks, see links in tables below.
To download raw data of drifters underway, click here.
To see raw statistics click here.
To see just the tracks from the last week, click here.
To see various drifter-project descriptions, click here.
To see description of the drifter construction and technology, click here.
To download tracks stored in historical database, click here.
To document a drifter deployment, click here.
To document a drifter recovery, click here.
To see last year's flash animations click here.
Get the Flash Player to see this animation.
| Institution (data) | Deployer (cruise report) | Date
Deployed (animation) | Dropsite (observed track) | Code | Science (FVCOM forecast snapshot) | Status (customized googlemap) | Fate (photo) |
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| UMASSD | King/Brown | 27 Jan | off Cape Cod | 1 | transient eddies | done | Gulf Stream and beyond | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WHOI/NOAA | Moore/Cole | 26 Feb | Georges Bank | 1 | right whales | done | apparently detached from dead right whale after one day | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowdoin | Laine | 9 Apr | Casco Bay | 1-3 | Kennebec discharge | done | rode coastal current south to Georges Bank and died 4 Oct on Scotian Shelf | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NOAA | Kocik | 27 Apr | Penobscot Bay | 1,2 | salmon smolts | done | rode coastal current south to Georges Bank | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NOAA | Kocik | 29 May | Penobscot Bay | 1,2 | salmon smolts | done | short lived | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowdoin/StJoe's | Laine/Teegarden | 8 May | Casco Bay | 1,2 | Lombos Hole Circulation | done | multiple groundings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MASS DMF | Glenn | 4 June | off Buzzards Bay | 1-3 | lobster larvae | done | drogued and surface unit headed SW to New York Waters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MASS DMF | Glenn | 16 June | off Buzzards Bay | 4 | lobster larvae | done | surface unit only came ashore on the eastern shore of Newport, RI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MASS DMF | Glenn | 24 June | off Buzzards Bay | 5-8 | lobster larvae | done | 1 drogued went to NJ and 3 surface units stalled for a week, headed west,... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MASS DMF | Glenn | 6 July | off Buzzards Bay | 1-2 | lobster larvae | done | 2 surface ashore at South Dartmouth MA one day later | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MASS DMF | Glenn/DeCosta | 10-11 July | off Buzzards Bay | 3-6 | lobster larvae | done | 1 drogue, 3 surface w/interesting combination of both tidal and wind responses | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MASS DMF | Glenn | 24 July | Buzzards Bay | 7-8 | lobster
larvae| done | 2 surface up the bay (one in the canal!) |
MASS DMF | Glenn | 29 July | Buzzards Bay | 9-10 | lobster larvae | done | 2 surface grounded in West Falmouth and Catamet | MASS DMF | Glenn/Wilcox | 7 August | Buzzards Bay | 1-5 | lobster larvae | done | 5 surface | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 9 June | Great Bay (NH) | 1 | lobster larvae | done | grounded after one tide | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 22 June | Great Bay (NH) | 2 | lobster larvae | done | grounded after one tide | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 24 June | Great Bay (NH) | 3 | lobster larvae | done | grounded,refloated, grounded | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 1 July | Great Bay (NH) | 1 | lobster larvae | done | grounded | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 6 July | Great Bay (NH) | 1 | lobster larvae
| done | grounded, refloated, grounded | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 17 June | off NH | 1 | lobster larvae | done | ashore near Gloucester | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 8 July | off NH | 1 | lobster larvae | done | standard track to Georges Bank | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 20 July | off NH | 1 | lobster larvae | done | entered Mass Bay and died in GSC | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 17 Aug | off NH | 1 | lobster larvae | done | died one day after deployment | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 24 Sept | Great Bay (NH) | 1 | lobster larvae | done | recovered after a couple tidal cycles around Great Bay | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 7 Nov | off NH | 1 | lobster larvae | done | headed north, turned around,
entered river, and picked up by fisherman on Friday the 13th | UNH/CMB | Goldstein/Watson | 18 Nov | off NH | 1 | lobster larvae | done? | Georges Bank ... | RI-DEM | Angell | 15 June | Block Island Sound | 1-4 | lobster larvae | done | ashore at Matunuck RI a week later | RI-DEM | Angell | 7 July | Block Island Sound | 1-4 | lobster larvae | done | moved towards Long Island Sound but all recovered
along the way | RI-DEM | Angell | 8 July | Block Island Sound | 5 | lobster larvae | underway | Gulf Stream ... | RI-DEM | Angell | 15 July | Block Island Sound | 6-7 | lobster larvae
| done | one recovered off Pt judith and the other disappeared south of Block Island | OSU | Shearman | 21 July | Mass Bay | 4-6 | internal waves | done | processing not complete | OSU | Shearman | 15 Sep | Mass Bay | 1-3 | internal waves | done | processing not complete | SMCC | Long/Tarbox | 10 Aug | Casco Bay | 1 | educational | done | Picked up by fishermen, Skip Carter | SMCC | Long/Tarbox | 12 Aug | Casco Bay | 2 | educational | done | Apparently washed up on the Kennebunk rocks at end of Halycon Drive (off Ocean Dr) late in the day 25 August and the transmitter floated down the coast and landing in a Wells Maine marsh where it took alot of effort to find. | SMCC | Long/Tarbox | 1 Dec | Casco Bay | 3,4 | educational | underway | One washed up 4 days later to the east and the other ... | UMM | Johnson | 7 Sep | Frenchman Bay | 1 | educational | done | Apparently washed up briefly on Ironbound Island late in the day 7 Sep and then recovered a few days later off SW Harbor | UMM | | 8 Dec | Machias Bay | 1 | educational | done | exits the bay in 2 tides and landed on Starboard Island | CFCC | Shaw/Jenkins | 22 Sept | Gulf Stream | 1 | educational | done? | meandered in Gulf Stream and ... | CFCC | Shaw/Miller | 06 Oct | Onslow Bay | 1 | educational | done | GPS failed on 12 Nov after oscillating along-isobath for 5 weeks | MPC/MBARI | Hochstaedter | 29 Sept | MontereyCalifornia | 1-2 | educational | done | drifted NW and recovered after 2+ days | MPC/MBARI | Hochstaedter | 5 Oct | Monterey California | 1-2 | educational | done | retained nearshore (one beached) | MPC | Hochstaedter | 14 Nov | Monterey California | 1 | educational | underway | Headed south and then ... | UMASSD | McDonald | 7 Nov | Mouth of Merrimack | 1-25 | plume dynamics | done | expelled from river, headed ENE, recovered 1-day later | Bristol CC | Rak | 10 Nov | Mt Hope Bay | 1 | LNG assessment | done? | Hudson Shelf Canyon in one month!! | USCG | Carton/Tallent | 13 Jan 2010 | NNE Sector | 1 | SAROPS training exercises | underway | | Endicott | Butler | 2010? | Mass Bay | 1 | educational | planned | | Mass Maritime | Hyatt | 2010? | Buzzards Bay | 1 | educational | planned | | UNH/NASA | Salisbury | 2010 | Casco Bay | 1,2 | clam acidification | planned | | WHOI | McGillicuddy | 2010 | GoM | 1-14 | Alexandrium | planned | | |
| Launch
Location |
Date Deployed | Deployer
(observed track) |
ID#
(Speed) |
Drogue Depth in meters (google kml) | Color (temperature) | Fate (FVCOM forecast) |
| Off Cape Cod | 27 Jan 2009 | UMASSD | 91191 | 1 | r | Nantucket Shoals, GSC, and Gulf Stream |
| Georges Bank | 26 Feb 2009 | WHOI/NOAA | 92181 | 1 | r | Dead Right Whale Drifter but detached after one day |
| Casco Bay | 9 April 2009 | Bowdoin | 94391 | 0.5 | r | died in late July on Brown's Bank (south of Nova Scotia) |
| Bowdoin | 94392 | 0.5 | g | died in late June on Nantucket Shoals but then came back to life in mid-July on a Little Compton RI beach, saved by Niels Hobb of the Nature Conservancy | ||
| Bowdoin | 94303 | 1 | b | Scotian Shelf and beyond... | ||
| 8 May 2009 | Bowdoin | 95391 | 1 | c | grounded multiple times | |
| Bowdoin | 95392 | 1 | b | grounded multiple times | ||
| 10 Aug 2009 | SMCC | 98301 | 1 | b | Picked up by lobsterman, Skip Carter, the following day and brought to Deakes Dock downtown Portland | |
| 12 Aug 2009 | SMCC | 98302 | 1 | m | Apparently washed up on the Kennebunk rocks at end of Halycon Drive (off Ocean Dr) late in the day 25 August | |
| 1 Dec 2009 | SMCC | 90303 | 1 | m | Rachel washed up on Eastern side of Bay 5 days later | |
| SMCC | 90304 | 6 | c | small drogue reacted differently | ||
| Penobscot Bay | 27 April 2009 | NOAA Salmon | 94491 | 1 | m | caught in Gulf Stream cold core ring on 23 Oct, finally died 28 Dec ... |
| NOAA Salmon | 94492 | 1 | b | grounded on "Crane Island" off the southwest corner of Vinalhaven | ||
| 29 May 2009 | NOAA Salmon | 95491 | 1 | r | grounded | |
| NOAA Salmon | 95492 | 1 | b | grounded | ||
| Great Bay | 9 June 2009 | UNH | 96301 | 1 | b | grounded after one tide |
| 22 June 2009 | UNH | 96302 | 1 | m | grounded after one tide | |
| 24 June 2009 | UNH | 96303 | 1 | m | grounded, refloated, grounded | |
| 1 July 2009 | UNH | 97301 | 1 | m | grounded | |
| 6 July 2009 | UNH | 97302 | 1 | c | grounded | |
| 24 Sept 2009 | UNH | 99301 | 1 | m | recovered after a couple tidal cycles around Great Bay | |
| Buzzards Bay | 4 June 2009 | MADMF | 96101-A | 1 | pink | stopped transmitting on 7 Sept on shelf edge off the Cheasapeake |
| MADMF | 96102-B | 1 | green | run down or malfunctioned 4 June and recovered in Westerly/Charlestown RI on 1 July by Ron Jarvis | ||
| MADMF | 96103-W | 13 | red | taken by fisherman to Norwich Ct on 19 June | ||
| 16 June 2009 | MADMF | 96104-F | 1 | red | grounded on Newport's Eastern Bay | |
| 24 June 2009 | MADMF | 96105-C | 1 | red | hungup on fish weir a mile or so off Newport on the 2nd of July | |
| MADMF | 96106-X | 13 | green | washed ashore in Lavalette NJ, recovered by local police, and set to be mailed back via Fedex (apparently lost drogue off NJ shore) | ||
| MADMF | 96107-F | 1 | b | last transmission 1 Sept on shelf edge off Chesapeake | ||
| MADMF | 96108-H | 1 | magenta | infrequent fixes, came ashore on Horseneck Beach 29 June | ||
| 6 July 2009 | MADMF | 97101-K | 1 | blue | grounded in Dartmouth MA one tide later | |
| MADMF | 97102-I | 1 | magenta | grounded on Great Neck one tide later | ||
| 10 July 2009 | MADMF | 97103-Z | 13 | b | hungup on hard bottom 18 July and recovered by Mass DMF on 29 July | |
| MADMF | 97104-J | 1 | m | oscillated with tide between Nashon and vineyard, did an excursion to Block Island, came back to starting location, and finally crashed on Horseneck Beach rocks where Steve recovered it on 4 August | ||
| 11 July 2009 | MADMF | 97105-I | 1 | r | intermittant, recovered ashore on Nashawena on 13 July | |
| MADMF | 97106-K | 1 | c | recovered by Steve on Nashon on 15 July | ||
| 24 July 2009 | MADMF | 97107-H | 1 | magenta | recovered by Reaz the summer student off the beach at Scraggy Neck, N. Falmouth | |
| MADMF | 97108-K | 1 | r | recovered via MassDMF kayak from a tidal flat in Little Harbor in Wareham after it had made an excursion up the canal and beyond the Bourne Bridge and back! | ||
| 29 July 2009 | MADMF | 97109-C | 1 | r | grounded on Scraggy Neck Catamet on 31 July recovered by Lilly Manning | |
| MADMF | 971010-I | 1 | g | recovered by a beach walker on Little Island at the entrance to West Falmouth Harbor the evening of 30 July and then picked up by summer student, Reaz. the next morning | ||
| 7 Aug 2009 | MADMF | 98101-K | 1 | g | stopped transmitting the morning before Barack arrived on Martha's Vineyard (recovered by secret service?) | |
| MADMF | 98102-B | 1 | m | came ashore on Mass-RI border and recovered by Steve Wilcox on 22 Aug | ||
| MADMF | 98103-I | 1 | b | apparently run down on 8/13 at the mouth of Buzzards Bay, started transmitting again on 31 August from Pocasset's Scraggy Neck Beach, and recovered by JiM> | ||
| MADMF | 98104-C | 1 | y | apparentently died on 25 August on shelfedge but then came back to life a few 100 miles off the motuh of the Chesapeake on 26 Oct | ||
| MADMF | 98105-H2 | 1 | r | died on 16 Aug (has extra transmitter) | ||
| MADMF | 98106-H1 | 1 | r | extra transmitter on 96105 | ||
| Block Island Sound | 15 June 2009 | RI-DEM | 96111-D | 1 | r | evidently run down and then grounded near Galilee RI |
| RI-DEM | 96112-E | 1 | green | grounded on Moonstone Beach and recovered | ||
| RI-DEM | 96113-G | 1 | blue | grounded on Moonstone Beach and recovered | ||
| RI-DEM | 96114-L | 1 | magenta | grounded on Moonstone Beach and recovered | ||
| 7 July 2009 | RI-DEM | 97111-E | 1 | red | grounded on 8 July on Jamestown | |
| RI-DEM | 97112-G | 1 | green | recovered by Elaine Burnard while fishing with her husband on a 17ft boat off Westerly RI on 10 July | ||
| RI-DEM | 97113-L | 1 | blue | recovered by "Pam" on the East Matunuck State Beach in 19 July, brought to her home at 15 Beach Row, recovered by Scott at RI-DEM | ||
| RI-DEM | 97114-Y | 13 | magenta | recovered by Peter Spong's F/V BrookC on 8 July and brought into Point Judith | ||
| 8 July 2009 | RI-DEM | 97115-E | 1 | blue | underway | |
| 15 July 2009 | RI-DEM | 97116-G | 1 | red | quit south of Block Island on 23 July | |
| RI-DEM | 97117-Y | 13 | m | hungup on gear south of Pt Judith and brought to shore | ||
| Off NH | 17 June 2009 | UNH | 96201 | 1 | r | headed north, turned around, and came ashore on Cape Ann |
| 8 July 2009 | UNH | 97201 | 1 | m | died on Northern Flank of Georges Bank in mid-August | |
| 20 July 2009 | UNH | 97202 | 1 | b | died in Great South Channel in mid-August | |
| 17 Aug 2009 | UNH | 98201 | 1 | r | died a day later | |
| 7 Nov 2009 | UNH | 90301 | 1 | m | ||
| 18 Nov 2009 | UNH | 90302 | 1 | r | ||
| Mass Bay | 21 July 2009 | OSU | 97204 | 1 | r | short quarter-tide deployment |
| OSU | 97205 | 1 | b | short quarter-tide deployment | ||
| OSU | 97206 | 1 | b | short quarter-tide deployment | ||
| Frenchman Bay | 7 Sept 2009 | UMM | 99440681 | 1 | b | apparently washed up briefly on the evening of deployment, refloated, and was recovered on 10 Sept off SW Harbor |
| Gulf Stream | 22 Sept 2009 | CFCC | 99340751 | 1 | m | |
| Monterey Bay | 29 Sept 2009 | MPC | 99361211 | 1 | m | drifted NW and recovered after 2+ days |
| MPC | 99361212 | 1 | r | drifted NW and recovered after 2+ days | ||
| Monterey Bay | 5 Oct 2009 | MPC | 90361211 | 1 | m | gradually drifted shoreward (after two gyres) and beached in about 2 days |
| MPC | 90361212 | 1 | r | oscillated at head of canyon and recovered near mouth of Moss Landing after two days | ||
| Monterey Bay | 14 Nov 2009 | MPC | 90361221 | 1 | m | gradually drifted shoreward (after two gyres) and beached in about 2 days |
| Onslow Bay NC | 5 Oct 2009 | CFCC | 90340771 | 1 | c | GPS failed on 12 Nov |
| off Merrimack River | 7 Nov 2009 | UMASSDCEFM | 90201-A | 0.3 | r | |
| UMASSDCEFM | 90202-B | 0.3 | g | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 90203-AI | 0.3 | b | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 90202-D | 0.3 | c | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 90205-E | 0.3 | m | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 90206-F | 0.3 | y | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 90207-G | 0.3 | k | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 90208-H | 0.3 | r | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 90209-I | 0.3 | g | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902010-J | 0.3 | b | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902011-K | 0.3 | c | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902012-L | 0.3 | m | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902013-M | 0.3 | y | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902014-N | 0.3 | k | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902015-O | 0.3 | r | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902016-P | 0.3 | g | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902017-Q | 0.3 | b | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902018-R | 0.3 | c | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902019-S | 0.3 | m | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902020-T | 0.3 | y | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902021-U | 0.3 | k | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902022-V | 0.3 | r | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902023-W | 0.3 | g | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902024-X | 0.3 | b | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902025-Y | 0.3 | c | |||
| UMASSDCEFM | 902026-Z | 0.3 | c | |||
| Mt. Hope Bay | 10 Nov | BCC | 90111 | 1 | r | escaped bay and quickly headed offshore NJ where it stalled |
| Machias Bay | 8 Dec 2009 | UMM | 90440671 | 0.5 | c | exited the bay in 2 tides and ... |
