A weekly update on the drift buoys which have been deployed off Durban
Latest update 22 June 2010:
Latest drifter update is that the drifter originally deployed 10 km off Durban on 27 May, and the one deployed about 6km off Richards Bay on 31 May both ended up in the same area around Tugela - Amatikulu, ultimately being 2.5 km apart. Both then drifted north-eastwards under the influence of the big cold front that pushed thru last week. Unfortunately both were pushed inshore, with the Richards Bay drifter beaching off the Nhlabane estuary north of Richards Bay last Friday while I was on my way to retrieve it.
It was recovered by a subsistence fisherman, Sabelo Cele, who thankfully phoned us and, together with assistance from Frans Mthembu of EKZN Wildlife, we were able to pick it up from him. The Durban drifter moved a bit further north, eventually moving inshore off Mapelane and was kindly retrieved for us on Saturday afternoon by Marius Vermaak of the Mapelane Ski-boat Club during their Mapelane Couta Classic competition this past week-end.
Both drifters are still in a reasonable condition and we will most likely redeploy them once we have decided when and where.
The other drifter deployed off Durban on 1 June was still doing a couple of rotations within an Agulhas current meander that developed into an eddy south of the Port Alfred to Port Elizabeth area in the E Cape.
A weekly update on the drift buoys which have been deployed off Durban
Lisa Guastella sent some feedback about the drifter bouys; apparently the drifter that was deployed off Durban (and filmed for ESA) initially looked like it would get into the Durban eddy a bit, but then got shunted northward by the big SW we had the previous Friday evening and moved all the way up to the Tugela area, where it has been drifting up and down. What this ultimately meant was that they didn't need to bother about doing a deployment at Tugela and rather deployed a 2nd drifter off Durban on Tuesday last week.
This one went into the eddy for a rotation and a half, turning off Scottburgh, but then spun out and moved with the Agulhas current southwards and is currently (excuse the pun) 50 km off Cintsa possibly moving into a dissipating Agulhas current meander. The Richards Bay drifter was deployed last Monday and has just been cruising up and down with a couple of minor loops and is currently 4km off the Sanctuary. Just a reminder please for all ski-boaters: if you happen to see these drifter bouys please remember not to touch them as they are part of a UCT study and ESA will be sharing updates of Lisa’s findings with you.
Drifter Bouys Updates
