Summary

Description

A rigid, neutrally buoyant hydrodynamicaly-faired tether and associated fastening hardware that loosely holds a bathymetric float at a predetermined distance from a fixed mooring in the open ocean. The tether rides up and down the mooring on low friction rollers or other low friction fittings which allows the bathymetric float to ascend and descend as normally done in its intended application. The difference is that in current practice, bathymetric floats are Lagrangian drifters that float through the ocean freely, sending recorded oceanographic data to shore stations via satellite communications. The present invention allows the same float to be utilized to collect the same data in a fixed location over the same timeframes as the floats’ normal use.