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A Tall Buoy

Members of the WHOI Buoy Group load a spar buoy onto the research vessel Atlantis for use in the CLIMODE experiment to investigate the formation and evolution of a mass of 18° C water in the North Atlantic and its influence on climate. The spar buoy floats vertically at the surface and carries instruments to assess the exchange of heat and moisture between the atmosphere and the ocean. It is the second-largest object, next to the submersible Alvin, ever launched from Atlantis. The Buoy Group recently celebrated the 50^th anniversary of its first mooring deployment. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)