A SWIFT Deployment: Collecting Data Around the Americas - Sailors for the Sea

A SWIFT Deployment: Collecting Data Around the Americas

 June 26, 2025  | By: Shelley Brown

A five-person crew of scientists and sailors departed Anacortes, Washington in May to start their Around the Americas Expedition aboard a 48-foot steel sailboat, One Ocean. Along the 27,000-mile journey circumnavigating North and South America, their mission will focus on scientific research, education, and community outreach to raise awareness about ocean health. The crew will be studying floating kelp forests from Alaska to Patagonia and collecting atmospheric and oceanic data along the route. In addition to having instruments collecting scientific data onboard, One Ocean will be deploying ten microSWIFT buoys at specific locations along their route.

What are microSWIFT buoys?

The microSWIFT (Surface Wave Instrument Float with Tracking) buoy is a free-drifting device that measures wave, surface current, temperature, and salinity data in real-time. These small buoys are equipped with GPS to track their exact position as they move with the waves collecting scientific measurements. The buoys allow scientists to monitor changes in wave patterns and study the impacts of climate change on coastal and marine ecosystems.

The One Ocean crew deployed the first buoy in the Gulf of Alaska during a live classroom with Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants to share the data and scientific findings with children across the globe. Follow along and see the data in real-time on the MicroSWIFT Dashboard (make sure to switch to Around the Americas One Ocean).

How to get children involved in scientific collection?

Our KELP (Kids Environmental Lesson Plans) program has several activities in which children can make their own simple scientific devices to monitor different environmental factors in their local waterways. In our What’s Hiding in the Water? activity, children can make a plankton tow to collect and identify various plankton in their waters. In our Cloudy Waters, children can build a Secchi disk to monitor water clarity in their region. You can download our complete KELP library of marine science activities at sailorsforthesea.org/kelp!