Pulse – a mooring for mixed layer measurements in the open ocean and extreme weather

Measuring the surface mixed layer of the Southern Ocean is technically difficult due to the extreme weather conditions. A novel mooring with a surface expression has recently achieved engineering success in this harsh environment over a 6-month deployment. The mooring was the result of numerous prototypes and utilises a mixed design which includes a taut deep section, a long S-tether, a large mass/damper and bungee cords suspended from a small buoy to decouple surface wave action from the instrument package.