2023/2024 Drifter Tracks
Resolving transport pathways through New England's continental shelf waters and beyond
updated every few hours
See a GoogleMap of just this month's tracks.
Go to Student Drifters Homepage.
See how to navigate a drifter track animation portal
Find out how to get involved with the project
Download drifter construction manuals and lesson plans
Access the historical drifter data.
Get information on a related unmanned sailboat project
Plots of this year's tracks are linked in the table below.
Drifter tracks from last year are here.
Drifter tracks from in previous years (email james.patrick.manning@gmail.com):
To get PYTHON processing routines, email James Manning for the latest versions.
To see information on individual clusters, click the links in the following chronological table
| Institution (data) |
PI (report/blog) | Deployers (deploy video) | Date Deployed (animation) | Dropsite (forecast) | #units | Science (sensor map) | Status (googlemap) | ID-Type of Unit (photo) | Fate (photo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seton Hall Prep High | David Snyder | F/V Nathaniel Lee | Aug 21 2022 | Oceanographers Canyon | 2 | education | underway | mini surface drifter | 228400691,228400692 separated by several hundred miles after a few months |
| Waterford CT High | OConner | R/V Neil Armstrong | Nov 13, 2022 | Southern New England Shelf | 1 | education | done | surface drifter and miniboat | 220400721 drifter along with Educational Passages miniboat "Lady Lance" as documented with a weekly blog with the deployment video posted here, apparently died 22 March. The miniboat was recoveryed by Azorean colleagues on 12 May 2023 off the island of Graciosa. |
| First Presbyterian Day School | Patti Lewis and Harrison Smith | F/V Fish Haven | Mar 8, 2023 | Gulf of Mexico | 1 | education moon tides | done | surface drifter | 233280891 made a few loops, headed south, and then, one week after deployment, made it into Chandeleur South, circumnavigated an island, past the delta on 19 March, and, as of the end of the month, was headed westward. On May 9th, 2023, after a 2-month-long trek, it landed overnight on the breakwater at the mouth of Galveston Bay Texas but then apparently freed itself, headed into the bay the next morning, and then was recovered by El Jardin Beach-walker , Dave Pior who will connect it to his science-teacher daughter. |
| Falmouth MA High | Cheryl Milliken | USCG | Mar 11, 2023 | Cape Cod Bay | 2 | education/potential nuclear waste transport turtles |
done | surface drifter and miniboat | 233410701 recovered by Laurie Davis on 14 March with a few bent/broken spars near the White Cliffs Cedarville neighborhood of Plymouth and picked up by JiM; 233410702 miniboat "Scarborough Sailor" went ashore to Plymouth Long Beach the first morning, recovered by a marine debris cleaner missing a few parts, and picked up by Cheryl; |
| Southern Maine Community College | Brian Tarbox | Jeff Putman's Captain B and Alex Todd's F/V Jacob and Joshua and Ben Lydon's Charter boat Bad Larry Capt Brian Tarbox SMCC R/V Charlie Hall and Jeff Putman's Captain B again |
Mar 29, 2023 May 26, 2023 July 8, 2023 Sep 21, 2023 Dec 2, 2023 |
Jeffreys Ledge | 5 | education | done | surface "eddie" and plywood "brian" drifters | 233430701 as seen being tested by students, stalled for a week before it started heading south, traveled cyclonically around Cape Cod Bay, oscillated a few times north/south between Wellfleet & Truro, came ashore May 20th, 2023 across from Allerton St in Ptown, evidently rolled around in the surf, reported the next noon 1/4 mile to the east, recovered badly damaged by Laura Ludwig's beach cleanup crew on 22 May, and transported by Robert back to Maine; 235430701 normal route down the backside of Cape Cod, Georges Bank by late June, headed up into the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy in August, and then went silent just south of St John NB in mid-September; 237430701 headed east out into mid-gulf region around Georges Bank and then went silent on Oct 5th as it approach Hudson Shelf Valley ; 239420701 headed into Mass Bay on Nov 1st southern Flank of Georges in Dec 1st... 230430701 deployed on Jefferies, still going south of Grand Banks in mid-April ... died mid-ocean on 29 July 2024 |
| Jacksonville Marine Lab | J Stalker | USCG Mayport Station Jacksonville Florida | Apr 8, 2023 | Gulf Stream off Florida | 2 | education | done | student-designed PVC surface drifters | 234300801 came ashore at Al Weeks North Shore Park in Ormond on 11 April and ended up at the Volusia County Beach Safty Headquarters in Daytona; 234300802 apparently came ashore about a mile south of the 1st one on 12 April but then showed up on a Palm Beach beach on 14 April |
| Meadowbrook Elementary | Jessica MacManus | M/V Albatross; USCG zodiac | May 30, 2023; June 8, 2023 | Cape Cod Bay | 3 | education | done | surface drifters | 235410701 videoed and recovered by Ann Plelan, a "cold plunger" at Corporation Beach on June 4th after a few days of northerlies ... 235410702 came ashore on Sandy Neck Park on June 4th, photographed, reported by a beach walker, recovered by the gate house crew with help from Amanda and Dena, picked up by JiM June 6th, and delivered to USCG. 236410701 deployed by USCG on June 8, traveled north, was entrained in the backside coastal current south on June 29, and finally quit reporting mid-ocean in late December |
| Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab | Steve Ruberg | ? | June 26, 2023 | Lake Michigan | 4 | Fish Larval Transport | done | surface "eddie" drifters | 236440861 recovered before it hit the shore on June 29th at about 2000Z; 236440862 recovered before it hit the shore on June 29th at about 2000Z; 236440863 recovered before it hit the shore on June 29th at about 2000Z; 236440864 recovered before it hit the shore on June 29th at about 2000Z; |
| Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab | Steve Ruberg | ? | Aug 1, 2023 | Lake Michigan | 4 | Fish Larval Transport | done | surface "eddie" drifters | 238440861 hit Hoffmaster State Park shore on Aug 3rd at about 0800Z; 238440862 hit Hoffmaster State Park shore on Aug 3rd at about 0800Z; 238440863 hit Hoffmaster State Park shore on Aug 3rd at about 0800Z; 238440864 hit just south of Hoffmaster State Park shore on Aug 3rd at about 0800Z; |
| Wellan Montesouri | Merav Rosen & Caitlin Bowring | Jeff White | Oct 28 2023 | off S Maine | 1 | education | done | wooden turtle | 230420701 got caught in a cold core ring starting 25 Dec 2023 but after several revolutions made it further east until the end of March |
| Jacksonville Marine Lab | Melanie Doan and J Stalker | USCG Mayport Station Jacksonville Florida | Oct 20, 2023 | Gulf Stream off Florida | 12 | education | done | student-designed PVC surface drifters | 235300801 transmitted episodically and then quit on 12 Nov 2023 off St Augustine;
235300802 not deployed; 235300803 came ashore at Ocean Palm Villas Beach on 4 Nov 2023; 235300804 came ashore just north of Playalinda beach on 9 Nov 2023 and recovered by National Seashore Park Ranger Jimi without a transmitter to be brought to JML by Randy; 235300805 came ashore in front of the Seacoast Garden Condos in Edgewater on 5 Nov 2023 and recovered by Casey Binkley who is the landlord of an apartment complex in New Smyrna; 235300806 quit transmitting off Daytona Beach on 4 Nov 2023 ...; 235300807 came ashore on Playalinda Beach about a mile north of Kennedy Space Center on 6 Nov 2023 and recovered by National Seashore Jimi to be brought to JML by Randy; 235300808 did not transmit; 235300809 came ashore on Flager Beach recovered by a Jim about a mile or two beyond the Apollo Beach road on Canaveral National Seashore on 6 Nov 2023 brought ashore by somebody to the 3rd house on right on Saddlewood Ln in Winter Springs; 2353008010 came ashore in front of the Seacoast Garden Condos in Edgewater on 10 Nov 2023 2353008011 came ashore on Playalinda Beach about a few miles north of Kennedy Space Center on 7 Nov 2023 and recovered by National Seashore Park Ranger Jimi to be brought to JML by Randy; 2353008012 came ashore about a half mile beyond the Apollo Beach road on Canaveral National Seashore on 6 Nov 2023, decommissioned on 27 Nov, recovered by National Seashore Park Ranger Jimi ; 2353008013 did not transmit since the transmitter evidently came off during deployment but recovered by National Seashore Park Ranger Jimi near Playalinda Beach to be brought to JML by Randy; |
| Falmouth MA High Falmouth Jr High |
Cheryl Milliken Liz Klein |
USCG F/V Grace Sarah F/V Resolve |
Nov 25, 2023, Dec 2, 2023 anim#1, Dec 15, 2023,anim#2 and ,anim#3 |
Cape Cod Bay | 2 4 4 |
potential nuclear waste transport turtles |
underway | surface drifters, MakerBuoys, miniboats, and combinations | 230410701 prototype "Jack" failed on deployment but reported for one day in the canal on 28 Nov where it was recovered in good shape by Army Corps Park Rangers Corinna and Samantha after the crew of patrol boat "Belmont" spotted it on the rocks; 230410702 standard "Irina" took nearly a month to cross the bay, decided to head into Ptown harbor on Dec 18th, and then finally rolled ashore on 8 Jan 2024 near Corporation Beach in Dennis where it was picked up by a beachwalker, put "in front of crockers path private beach", and then recovered by Cheryl on 10 January 2024; 230410703 (deployed by Dave Marsh off F/V Grace Sarah) miniboat Riptide sailed across the bay quickly, landed that evening on Duck Harbor Beach, recovered by Carmela and Stacey the next morning; 230410704 miniboat Rockstar sailed across the bay, turned around the next morning of easterlies, landed mid-day at Scusset Beach near the canal and recovered by Carmela and Stacey; 230410705 Makerbuoy drifter came ashore on Sagamore Beach 4 Dec 2023 ~0100Z, recovered by DJ, the beachwalker, and picked up by Carmela; 230410706 Makerbuoy drifter also came ashore on Sagamore Beach ~4 Dec 2023 0100Z , recovered by DJ, the beachwalker, and picked up by Carmela near Pilgrim Rd; 230410707 "Cheryl" surface drifter with stays and bar spars (not Jack like it says on the sail) still reporting semi-daily near Burmuda in APril 2024; 230410708 "Jack" experimental surface drifter with no buoy after reballasting reporting hourly except during times of waves (>5ft) prevent it from reporting...; 230410709 Riptide_9 miniboat made it across bay in ~7 hours and recovered by Stacey next morning on the same Duck Harbor Beach; 2304107010 Rock_Star_4 miniboat made it across the bay in about ~12 hours and recovered by Stacey next morning near Great Hollow Beach after hiking down below Crest View Court neighborhood; |
| IMAPOCEAN/Marine Institute/Hellenic Center for Marine Research | Ari Dimoula | R/V Poseidon R/V Celtic Voyager |
Apr 16, 2024 Apr 24,2024 |
off Greece Ireland |
2 | Education | done | surface "Irina" drifter surface "Conall" drifter |
244350251 Manolis Ntoumas & Pettas deployed north of Crete in Cretan Sea ... landed on the Egyptian North Coast resort area in late July; 244530141 Conall OMalley deployed west of Ireland with special construction ... went silent after three weeks and then ended up reporting from Tenby Harbor in Wales; |
| College Prep Science | Greg Landry | F/V Escape R/V Alabama Discovery F/V Duke |
Apr 23, 2024 May 1, 2024 Aug 6, 2024 Oct 2, 2024 Oct 14,2024 |
Gulf of Mexico | 6 | education | underway | surface "Irina" drifters | 244290881 deployed south of Dauphin Island .. made it into Johnson Cove on 28 April .. apparently stranded in the shallows for a few days ...
recovered by Greg under a dock; 245290881 redeployed deployed close to shore... headed off the 1st day despite shoreward wind ... finally came ashore on 13 May on Fort Pickens Thin Sandbar near Vitalli's Beach... transmitter mailed to Greg by Gulf Shores National Seashore 248290881 deployed Aug 6th 2024 with young students on board and righted itself in 30 seconds... eventually grounded a month later on Sep 5 2024 on the Breton National Wifelife Refuge where a fisherman photographed it ... FWS Brandon Melton and crew might be able to pick it up someday this fall...decommissioned Sep 20th 2024 .. 240290881 deployed Oct 2 about 1800Z at 30.1836N 88.0503W and looking good ... made it into Chandeleur Sound in mid-Oct and ... 240290882 deployed near Dauphin Island... 240290883 deployed near Dauphin Island... |
| Jacksonville Marine Lab | J Stalker | USCG Mayport Station Jacksonville Florida | Apr 25, 2024 | Gulf Stream off Florida | 4 | education | done | student-designed PVC surface drifters | 244300801 stopped transmitting on day 15;; 244300802 stopped transmitting on day 2; 244300803 stopped transmitting on day 3; 244300805 stranded on a remote Cumberland Island Beach south of Satilla River mouth and fianally decommisioned; |
| Southern Maine Community College | Tarbox/Smith | R/V Charlie Hall | May 17,2024 May 24, 2024 |
Casco Bay | 2 | aquaculture | done | estuarine drifter | 240430701 successful 1-hour test run with 5-minute samples 240430702 successful 3-hour test run with 5-minute samples |
| Long Beach Island Grade School | Cathy McBride | F/V Benita J | May 25, 2024 | shelfedge off Delaware | 1 | Education | done | surface "Irina" drifter | 245390731 deployed near Wilmington Canyon and unexpectantly stopped transmitting 3 days in; |
| Stonehill College | Burkholder | Joe Barrow's F/V Ryan Joseph CCS's R/V Marindin |
May 26, 2024 Jul 2, 2024 Jul 20, 2024 Aug 11, 2024 Sep 10, 2024 |
Mass Bay | 2 1 1 1 1 |
education | underway | surface "Irina" drifters | 245420701 Codman Academy (Nick Lee) prepared in class and at Cohasset Center for Student Coastal Research (Jack Buckley) ... hung out for awhile before heading to Georges Bank ... traveling the Southern Flank in August ...off Virginia in late September ...; 245420702 Blackstone Academy (John Horton and Brianna Balke) prepared in class and brought to Cohasset Center for Student Coastal Research (Jack Buckley)... hung out for awhile before heading towards Georges Bank ... Gulf Stream ... returned to Georges Bank in September and ...; 247420701 Cohasset Center for Student Coastal Research (Jack Buckley) unit deployed July 2nd...headed immediately offshore ..GB tidal-front jet in September ..; 247420702 built by Scituate High and CSCR students ... deployed July 20, 2024... sighted by Dolphin Fleet Whale Watchers near Ptown ... just south of Georges Bank in September ... 248420701 built by CSCR students... experienced nearly a month in Cape Cod Bay before coming ashore at Herring Cove Beach on Sep 5th and found by a swimmer Aaron Derman who tried to put it in his car but left it by the fence instead so that Brian Legare (PTown Center Coastal Studies) could recover it that evening. 249420691 same unit that came ashore on Herring Cove Beach was redeployed by Bryan Legare (CCS shark researcher) off High Head on the backside ... swashed back and forth with the tide for a day or two ... came ashore close to the Head of the Meadow .. recovered CCS by Tommy Tucker |
| Career And Academic Development Institute/Rutgers | Jeff Frank/Hugh Roarty | R/V Tioga/WHOI | June 4, 2024 | Mid-Atlantic Bight | 4 | education/CODAR | done | surface "Irina" drifters |
246400711 deployed in early June ... hung out for several weeks before heading south ...came ashore on Assateague Island in Maryland (near the Virginia border) on 24 September where a peregrine falcon researcher from Earthspan took the transmitter on a 3-4 day bird watching expedition up and down the island 246400712 hung out for several weeks before oscillating in the Vineyard Sound for a few weeks and coming ashore near Oak Bluffs on 8 August...recovered by Grace Simpkins son and JiM picked up transmitter from Eve 246400713 hung out for several weeks before approaching Nantucket... hungout inside the Nantucket Sound near Monomoy for a few weeks ...headed offshore ...retained on Georges Bank for most of August and stopped transmitting on Sep 21 north of the bank 246400714 hung out for nearly 3 months before going heading SW and going silent NE of Hudson Shelf Canyon on Sep 5th... |
| Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab | Steve Ruberg | R/V Laurentian | July 8, 2024 | Lake Michigan | 4 | Fish Larval Transport | done | surface "eddie" drifters | 247440861 headed north at first but then reversed ... came ashore on 14 July (~1000Z) about a mile south of the Grand Haven inlet ... brought to a nearby home ... recovered; 247440862 headed north at first but then reversed ... came ashore on 15 July (~2000Z) near the MACKiteboarding just south of the Muskegon Inlet ... recovered; 247440863 headed south at first but then reversed ... came ashore on 16 July (~1830Z) about a mile south of Macatawa Inlet ...brought to a nearby home on Sailview Dr ...recovered ; 247440864 headed south, then north, then far to the south ... evidently drag in shallows on 22 July (~0000Z) ... came ashore late 23 July... brought to the "Lake Michigan Home Owners Association" ... recovered; |
| WHOI Sea Grant OSTEAM | Grace Simpkins | R/V Tioga | Aug 15, 2024 | South of Martha's Vineyard | 1 | education | done | surface "Irina" drifter | 248410701 built at Sea Education Association by the OSTEAM girls... took coastal current along Long Island NY ... and came ashore in Longport NJ Shore on 25 September where it was reported by beachwalker Daryl Lemone... and recovered by Cathy McBride a teacher from Long Beach NJ the next day |
| Caterbury School of Florida | Audrey Mitchell | ??? | Sep 2024 | Gulf of Mexico | 1 | education | planned | surface drifter | 249270831 ... |
| Stockton University | Anna Pfeiffer-Herbert | ?? | 2024? | off New Jersey | 1 | education | planned | surface drifter | 233400731... |
Note: Most units are prepared by students in the classroom. The majority are standard surface drifters" marking only the top 1-meter of the water column, and some have subsurface drogues typically centered at 10m-15m below the surface. For details, call 508-566-4080 or email james.patrick.manning@gmail.com.