An inexpensive wave height sensor for drogued Argos drifters

This wave height sensor measures significant wave height and wave height spectral energy in a drogued drifter consisting of a surface float attached to a large drogue by an elastic suspension system. The accelerations of the float are analyzed using embedded FFT subroutines in the buoy electronics, the data are formatted into a short binary message and telemetered to a satellite. This paper describes the measurement system, and presents comparisons between the new system and a reference wave measurement buoy.