Photo of the Week: Golden Voyage

A bright yellow buoy for the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) is carried out to sea past San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge earlier this year in this photo by CDIP program manager James Behrens.

Based at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, CDIP provides real-time wave and sea surface temperature data from network of buoys, as well as a California wave model and forecast based on the buoy data. CDIP data and models aid safe and efficient navigation and inform studies of shoreline change, regional coastal flooding, and sea-level rise preparedness.

The buoy was deployed from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) vessel John A.B. Dillard Jr., normally tasked with removing floating debris from San Francisco Bay, hence the giant claw on the crane.  USACE is a primary sponsor of CDIP, and the Dillard has supported CDIP's operations in the region for several years. Other major funders of CDIP are the California Department of Parks and Recreation Oceanography program, and the U.S. Navy.

Related Image Gallery: Photo of the Week 2019