Niu’s First 100 Miles
It has been 6 days since the launch of the Niu, and our wandering sensor is closing in on 100 miles traveled. The Niu started its journey by following the coast of Oahu northeast toward Turtle Bay, but it then made a sharp turn and headed due west during its first night at sea. Since ...
Read moreNiu’s Final Transmission
Well, it’s official. After four months of traveling and a succesful journey, the first Niu device has run out of batteries. The first generation ocean drifter device, which was launched from Waimea Bay, Hawaii on May 8, 2008, traveled 1,471 miles and was last heard from on September 7, 2008 at a location about 400 ...
Read moreNiu Passes the French Frigate Shoals
Niu is currently at about the same longitude (166 degrees west) as the French Frigate Shoals in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). This is the largest atoll in the NWHI and is a 20-mile long reef with 12 sandbars that lies about 560 miles northwest of Honolulu. It is believed that the first human visitors ...
Read moreNiu Leaves the Tropics
On Tuesday 5/20/08, Niu officially left the tropics, crossing over the Tropic of Cancer at about 23.5 degrees north latitude. In the “tropics” (between 23.5 degrees south and 23.5 degrees north latitude), the sun reaches its “zenith” in the sky (the highest point, or “straight up”). This occurs twice during the year in the tropics, ...
Read moreExplaining the Point Clustering
You may wonder why sometimes Niu’s coordinates are all clustered together and then suddenly they jump a great distance. For those who read my previous blog on “The Accuracy of Niu’s Coordinates”, you likely know the answer. For those who didn’t read it, here’s the short summary. When GPS satellites aren’t available, we use an ...
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