BOUSSOLE

Some of the major project milestones are given below:

1999-2000

Mooring and buoy design completed by the end of 1999.
Experiments on a reduced-scale model (1/10) are carried out and are conclusive (December 1999).
Construction of the first version of the buoy (aluminium) finished by mid of June 2000.
The design of the centralised data acquisition system finalised by spring of 2000.
Deployment of the first mooring on site, July 21st of 2000. The buoy is not equipped with the instrumentation (this is a qualification deployment for the buoy).
Recovery of the buoy 3 months later (October 19, 2000). This 3-month deployment is conclusive; it brings to some modifications in the drawing of the buoy, in order to still improve its performances.

2001-2002

Development and acquisition (February 2001) of the full instrument suite plus the centralised data acquisition system. Development is performed by Satlantic Inc., Halifax, NS Canada.
Feasibility study for the construction of the upper superstructure in carbon composite.
Construction of the upper superstructure in carbon composite (July 2001).
From July 2001 to December 2001: 6 3-day campaigns on site were carried out (R/V Téthys-II). These operations include: diving for checking the mooring line, CTD profiles, water sampling for determination of the phytoplankton pigments (HPLC), optical profiles (inherent and apparent properties).
December 2001: the 2 parts of the buoy are finished (carbon and aluminium).
February 2002: The installation of the instruments on the buoy is finished.
February 2002: loss of the mooring line (it was waiting on site since the recovery of the first buoy in October of 2000). A new line is built.
May 2002: operational deployment, with the buoy equipped with the full instrument suite.
June 2002: loss of the full mooring line + buoy, because of a manufacturing flaw of the main buoyancy.
September 2002: full reimbursement by the insurance.
September to December 2002: complete rebuilding of the instrumentation of the buoy.
October to December 2002: complementary engineering studies, ordered by ESA and CNES, and carried out by Marintek (Norway) and IFREMER. Conclusion: the concept of the BOUSSOLE buoy is confirmed and some advices are given for construction.
Cruises in 2002: 12 3-day campaigns on site were carried out (R/VTéthys-II; same activities as in 2001).

2003-2004

October 2002 to March 2003: invitation to tender for the selection of a manufacturer for the new buoy (the lower structure being now built in steel).
April 2003 to June 2003: construction.
September 6, 2003: deployment of the new version of the buoy (deployment #2). This deployment lasts until December 6, 2003 (thus exactly 3 months). The buoy was just recovered for a first revision.
Cruises in 2003: 12 3-day to 4-day campaigns on site were carried out (R/V Téthys-II; same activities as in 2001-2002, plus the operations needed for: recovery of the buoy data, radiometers rotations, and mooring maintenance).
October 2003 to February 2004: construction of a second buoy, and acquisition of the instrumentation needed to equip this second buoy.
March 4, 2004: deployment of the buoy, for a 4-month period (deployment # 3).
July 2004: first rotation on site, i.e., recovery of the buoy installed on March 4, 2004 and installation of the second buoy.
August 2004: 17-day AOPEX cruise ("Advanced Optical properties Experiment") on the R/V “Le Suroît”.
Cruises in 2004: 12 campaigns were carried out (R/V Téthys-II; same activities as in 2003).

2005-2006

July 2004 to May 2005: deployment # 4.
May-June 2005: The full mooring line and buoy were exchanged by a new mooring line and a new buoy. The buoy remained on site until the end of 2005; the deployment still continues today.
Cruises in 2005: 12 3-day to 4-day campaigns were carried out (R/V Téthys-II; same activities as in 2004).
The story continues....