Project EVE: The Core of a Neoteric Environmental Sampling Device

Presented within this paper is the Core of the Environmental Variable Evaluator system. It encompasses the multiple subcomponents of the device as well as an example application for use within a hurricane. The Core is a platform to host devices that can capture atmospheric and oceanographic data from within these storms. Launched from the Core are newly developed Launchsondes that fly into the storm, sampling temperature, pressure, humidity, wind fields, and communicating that information back in real-time. When deployed at sea, the Core can drop Xpendable Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (XCTD) sensors to record the temperature and conductivity profile of the water column. The Core was designed from the outset to be a modular platform, enabling different sensors to be integrated onto it with an open architecture design. Different types of Launchsondes or probes could be theoretically equipped on the Core, allowing it to fulfill different sampling missions as required. Included in this paper is an example design that incorporates a “4x4” configuration with four Launchsondes and four XCTD probes. This is a reference design for use in an ocean-fairing buoy for sampling the ocean-atmosphere interface within a hurricane, which is only one of its many potential uses.