Seatrec infiniTE™ Gulf Mission Update: 315 Profiles — Now in the Florida Straits
Seatrec infiniTE™ Gulf Mission Update: 315 Profiles — Now in the Florida Straits
Since our last update on November 4, the infiniTE™ float has completed 155 additional profiles and is now entering the Florida Straits, a narrow, high-energy corridor between the Florida Keys and Cuba where Gulf waters accelerate toward the Atlantic. The straits present markedly different sampling conditions: sharp frontal boundaries between water masses and rapidly varying subsurface structure to 800 m depth.
Current mission totals
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Profiles completed: 315
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Profiling depth: 800 meters
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Total Energy harvested: 2.609 MJ
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Sampling interval: ~every 6 hours
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Data transmission: near real-time via satellite after each surfacing
The Florida Straits sampling context
The Florida Straits form a narrow, deep passage connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean between the Florida Keys and Cuba, concentrating both flow and vertical structure over a short horizontal scale.
Geometry: At the narrowest point, the straits are ~93 miles (150 km) wide yet exceed 1,800 m in depth, creating a confined deep channel between shallow coastal shelves. This geometry funnels flow and steepens horizontal and vertical gradients in temperature and velocity.
The Florida Current: The Florida Current accelerates as it exits the Gulf, with mean surface velocities of 4–6 mph (6.5–9.5 km/h). These speeds increase horizontal advection between profiles and sharpen frontal boundaries encountered during repeated sampling.
Long-term monitoring: Current transport through the straits has been monitored nearly continuously since 1982 by NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, producing over 14,000 daily transport estimates. This long record provides a well-characterized dynamical context for new subsurface observations.
From Gulf drifting to boundary-current sampling
For its first 315 profiles, the float drifted across the Gulf of Mexico, building a broad picture of subsurface temperature and salinity conditions.
In the Florida Straits, the situation changes. Strong currents carry the float tens of kilometers between profiles, and water properties can change quickly over short distances. This means each profile reflects not only changes over time, but also differences from one location to the next.
Compared with the interior Gulf, these faster currents and sharper boundaries make the Florida Straits a more challenging environment to sample and interpret, requiring frequent, repeated measurements.
What’s being measured every cycle
Every ~6 hours the float dives, profiles, surfaces, and transmits data.
CTD (Conductivity–Temperature–Depth): Profiles salinity and temperature through the upper ocean to reveal layering, mixing, and subsurface heat structure—information satellites cannot observe.
Hydrophone: Records the underwater soundscape. Onboard processing compresses acoustic data for near-real-time transmission via satellite.
How it’s powered (no battery replacement required)
infiniTE™ is powered by Seatrec’s thermal energy harvesting system using phase-change materials (PCMs). As the float cycles between warm surface water and cold deep water, the PCM expands and contracts during phase transition, driving a hydraulic system and generator to produce electricity.
This enables sustained operation at approximately four profiles per day over multi-month deployments without battery replacement.
Collaboration opportunities
Seatrec is seeking collaborators focused on:
- Subsurface heat transport and model validation
- Gulf/Florida Straits soundscape ecology
- Long-duration autonomous sensing
Interested in data access or deploying similar technology? Contact info@seatrec.com.
Seatrec Names Johan Bergenas to Advisory Board
Seatrec Names Johan Bergenas to Advisory Board
Bergenas joins the board as a sustainability advisor bringing deep substantive, technology, and policy experience to boost Seatrec’s ocean data collection mission with their newly launched infiniTE™Float
VISTA, Calif. (Feb. 20, 2024) – Seatrec, a renewable energy company that harvests energy from temperature differences in the environment, today announces the appointment of Johan Bergenas to its Advisory Board as a sustainability advisor. Bergenas is the Senior Vice President of Oceans at the World Wildlife Fund and has served in several senior positions at the intersection of environmental policy, technology, and innovation.
“Johan brings a deep commitment to protecting the health of the oceans, as well as a wealth of experience in building and operating businesses that create positive change,” says Yi Chao, Ph.D., CEO and founder of Seatrec. “His insight and guidance will serve us well as we continue to expand the commercialization of our clean, renewable energy technology to significantly increase ocean data collection possibilities for scientific and commercial endeavors.”
Prior to Bergenas’ role overseeing World Wildlife Fund programs focused on ocean health, climate resilience, and environmental security, he worked at Paul Allen’s Vulcan developing, launching, and scaling science and technology programs worldwide. A former technology startup co-founder and CEO, Bergenas also led programming at the intersection of the environment, national security, and technology at the Stimson Center and the Monterey Institute.
“The health of the world’s oceans is in crisis and we need new, innovative solutions to help better understand and protect the oceans while ensuring the livelihoods of those who depend on its bounty,” explains Bergenas. “Seatrec’s infiniTE™ float is the first subsea robot powered by clean and renewable energy. This sustainable float enables scientists to profile more frequently and integrate high power sensors to capture data previously impossible on existing solutions.”
Seatrec’s pioneering energy harvesting system uses phase change materials to harness energy from temperature differences between the ocean’s various depths. These materials contract and expand creating pressure that’s captured and converted into electricity. The clean, virtually limitless energy allows scientists to power autonomous vehicles and sensors away from shore without direct ship support.
The company recently won funding from NOAA to build an autonomous profiling float powered by the ocean’s temperature differences to study the underwater soundscape and announced a separate initiative in partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi to deploy floats in the Gulf of Mexico to improve hurricane forecasting and monitor the critically endangered Rice’s Whale. Last year, Seatrec announced the commercial launch of a first-of-its-kind modular platform that provides power to support “plug-and-play” sensor suites.
About Seatrec
Seatrec designs and manufactures energy harvesting systems that generate electricity from naturally occurring temperature differences in ocean waters. This renewable energy can be used to power deep water oceanographic research equipment such as floats, gliders, and autonomous underwater vehicles, resulting in the most scalable, cost-effective deep ocean data collection possible. Incorporated in 2016 by CEO, Dr. Yi Chao, Seatrec’s technology originated at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, to provide clean power for remote off-grid locations. The company is headquartered in Vista, CA. Visit us at www.seatrec.com and @seatrecinc.
Media Contact
Sean Yokomizo
Seatrec, Inc.
sean.yokomizo@seatrec.com
+1 925.878.1200
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Oceanographic Team Wins NOAA Funding for Underwater Soundscape Study
Oceanographic Team Wins NOAA Funding for the Autonomous Profiling Float Powered by Ocean’s Temperature Differences to Study Underwater Soundscape
World-class experts from Seatrec, Integral Consulting, Naval Postgraduate School, MBARI, and Scripps/UC San Diego to build a long-endurance float for gathering directional acoustic data in the deep ocean powered by clean, renewable energy.
VISTA, Calif. – WEBWIRE – Wednesday, September 13, 2023
Seatrec, Integral Consulting, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), Naval Postgraduate School, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego today announce funding from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Ocean Exploration. The two-year funding award supports the integration of a commercial, off-the-shelf directional hydrophone manufactured by GeoSpectrum Technologies Inc. onto Seatrec’s newly launched infiniTE™ float to study the ocean’s soundscape.
“Sound is a critical component to understanding the ocean, but the power demands of acoustic sensors make it impossible to listen for extended periods, not to mention the additional power required to process the acoustic data in order to reduce the data size for satellite communication,” points out Dr. Yi Chao, the Founder and CEO of Seatrec. “Seatrec’s newly launched infiniTE™ float, capable of generating electricity from temperature differences in the ocean, opens up vast new areas of knowledge to help us better understand and protect the ocean.”
Studies show that noise from humans adversely affects a broad range of organisms, from shellfish larvae to large marine mammals. Acoustic sensors, or hydrophones, are needed to quantify the impact of these noises; however, current technology limits their use to short deployments from expensive-to-operate ships or to areas where power is supplied via a cable from shore.
“A robust understanding of deep-sea acoustics is invaluable across a range of scientific, environmental, economic, and national security needs,” explains Dr. Kaus Raghukumar, an acoustic oceanographer at Integral Consulting. “The integration of a vector sensor into Seatrec’s profiler will leverage Integral’s NoiseSpotter® technology and expertise. A directional hydrophone allows for a better understanding of the location of sound sources, such as marine mammals.”
Seatrec’s infiniTE™ float provides a new platform for deep-water acoustic observations over unprecedented durations in remote regions.
“As part of NOAA Ocean Exploration’s mission to lead, coordinate, and fund expeditions around the world, we are uniquely situated to promote partners in the maritime community - like this creative team - who can advance ocean exploration technologies and acquire critical data and information about various marine environments,” said Jeremy Weirich, Director of NOAA Ocean Exploration. “Supporting this collaboration to develop and test an innovative sensor on a new underwater platform is important for filling data gaps about our ocean and enabling scientific discovery.”
About Seatrec
Seatrec designs and manufactures oceanic robots and energy harvesting platforms that generate electricity from naturally occurring temperature differences in ocean waters. This renewable energy can power oceanographic research equipment such as floats, gliders, and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), resulting in the most scalable, cost-effective deep ocean data collection possible. Seatrec originated at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology and was incorporated by CEO Dr. Yi Chao in 2016. Learn more about us at www.seatrec.com and follow us on @seatrecinc.
About Integral Consulting
Integral Consulting Inc. is a national science and engineering firm delivering technical solutions to complex environmental, health, economic, and natural resource challenges faced by our clients. We employ an unrelenting commitment to technical excellence, innovation, and collaboration to help our clients minimize yesterday’s impacts, comply with today’s demands, and plan for tomorrow’s needs. For information, visit www.integral-corp.com.
About NOAA Exploration Research
NOAA Ocean Exploration is dedicated to exploring the unknown ocean, unlocking its potential through scientific discovery, technological advancements, partnerships, and data delivery. We are leading national efforts to fill gaps in our basic understanding of the marine environment, providing critical ocean data, information, and awareness needed to strengthen the economy, health, and security of the United States and the world.
Media Contact
Sean Yokomizo
Seatrec, Inc.
sean.yokomizo@seatrec.com
+1 925.878.1200
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