Saildrone hurricane work by CICOES researchers Calvin Mordy, Andy Chiodi, and Dongxiao Zhang was named one of “The Top Ten Ocean Stories of 2021” by Smithsonian Magazine.

From the article (by Danielle Hall and Alia N. Payne):

An Innovative Drone Weathers a Big Storm

Traveling to the eye of any hurricane is a treacherous endeavor. Such a journey is so perilous that it wasn’t until this year that scientists were able to successfully send a sailing drone into the heart of a Category 4 hurricane. The Saildrone, a new autonomous ocean-going vessel with a sleek body and upright sail, lasted 15 hours riding the waves of Hurricane Sam this fall and recorded the first videos and photos of the sea’s surface during a major hurricane. Previous attempts to do the same relied on low-flying drones, but many lasted 30 minutes before meeting their demise in the waves. As the Saildrone battered through 50-foot waves and winds over 150 miles per hour it relayed data back to scientists via satellite. This trip was experimental, but in future voyages the information gained will likely aid in storm forecasting.