The open ocean certainly wasn't a choice place to be earlier this week as Hurricane Sandy crept toward the East Coast. A floating robot, however, survived the rough waters in one piece.
The robot, called Mercury, is one of a series of Wave Gliders by California-based Liquid Robotics. Mercury was about 100 miles off the New Jersey shoreline collecting atmospheric pressure and wave height data as Sandy battered the coast Monday and Tuesday.
The Wave Glider robots are weather monitoring packages that convert the motion of waves into forward momentum; their goal is to collect tropical storm data in different oceanic parts of the world. They have an iceberg-like design: the visible portion, at the surface, is connected to a glider portion below the surface that pulls the vessel along.
Other Wave Gliders are on trips across the Earth at the moment, too. One is headed for Japan, with a stop planned at the Mariana Trench — where director James Cameron recently made a record-breaking dive — while another is headed toward Australia.
Watch the video above to learn more. How do you think technology can be used to better predict storms? Let us know in the comments.
Image courtesy of Flickr, NASA Earth Observatory.
More Coverage of Hurricane Sandy
"Destruction after fire in Breezy Point, Queens."
"Damage being repaired on the roof of the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Arts and Crafts Center after Hurricane Sandy made landfall."
Via Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs/Sgt. Brett Perkins
"No traffic on the FDR today. This was all under water the night before. It's amazing how a storm like Sandy can completely shut down an entire city."
"Bleeker Street Pizza: OPEN- The electricity was still out, but they were making pizza anyway, with the help of their gas-fired oven and a few spelunker head lamps."
Via Nick Sherman
"Aerial views of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy to the New Jersey coast taken during a search and rescue mission by 1-150 Assault Helicopter Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard, Oct. 30, 2012."
Via U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released
via Meghan Pipe
Via lafontainenissan
Via miss_pagano
"President Obama visits the American Red Cross Digital Command Center following Hurricane Sandy"
Via Dell
"Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia, visits Soldiers from the 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment Oct. 30 in Portsmouth, Va. "
Via Virginia Guard Public Affairs
"Destruction after fire in Breezy Point, Queens." Via Official New York City Fire Department
"Destruction after fire in Breezy Point, Queens."
"Damage being repaired on the roof of the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Arts and Crafts Center after Hurricane Sandy made landfall."
Via Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs/Sgt. Brett Perkins
"No traffic on the FDR today. This was all under water the night before. It's amazing how a storm like Sandy can completely shut down an entire city."
A submerged escalator at the South Ferry subway station in Lower Manhattan. Via MTA
People bail water from a basement of an East Village business. Via Brennan Cavanaugh
"Bleeker Street Pizza: OPEN- The electricity was still out, but they were making pizza anyway, with the help of their gas-fired oven and a few spelunker head lamps."
Via Nick Sherman
Via jesseandgreg
A truck is submerged in Battery Park, Manhattan. Via Andrea Canning
"Hurricane Sandy damage in Belmar, N.J. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012." Via Talk Radio News Service
"Aerial views of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy to the New Jersey coast taken during a search and rescue mission by 1-150 Assault Helicopter Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard, Oct. 30, 2012."
Via U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released
Via Andrew Cuomo
Via thejkinz
A street underwater. Via thejkinz
A tree uprooted in Long Island, New York. Via nikki_skye
via Meghan Pipe
Via lafontainenissan
Via miss_pagano
"Main St. After Hurricane Sandy" Via DumboNYC
"Jane's carousel is basically an island now. Poor horses." Via andjelicaaa
Via toastmatic
Via katemcdermott7
"John Schmidt, of the West Virginia Field Office, photographed his backyard during Hurricane Sandy." Via U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services
Via juspostbellum
Via anitaaaaaaaaaa3
"President Obama visits the American Red Cross Digital Command Center following Hurricane Sandy"
Via Dell
"Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., the Adjutant General of Virginia, visits Soldiers from the 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment Oct. 30 in Portsmouth, Va. "
Via Virginia Guard Public Affairs
"Spc. Anthony Monte along with Soldiers from the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New Jersey Army National Guard, mobilized for Hurricane Sandy provide assistance to displaced residents at an emergency shelter at the Werblin Recreation Center, Piscataway Township, N.J., Oct. 29, 2012."Via U.S. Army
Via John deGuzman
"Virginia National Guard Soldiers trudged through high water and cut trees to clear a path for two rescue missions that transported seven adults and one child to safety at two locations on Cattail Road in the Mears, Va. area Oct. 30." Via The National Gaurd
A car that has been smashed by a tree in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Via CSondi
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