Abstract
Extensive, cost-effective in situ monitoring of the rapidly changing yet poorly sampled Arctic Ocean is essential for advancing Arctic research. Self-powered drifting buoys that harvest ocean wave energy offer a promising path toward long-term observations in this remote, harsh environment, but prior designs have not been optimized for real-world wave conditions or validated in the Arctic. We report a self-powered drifting buoy that integrates a pendulum-driven triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with a mechanical motion rectifier, a high-gear-ratio transmission, and power management circuits. Through coupled buoy–pendulum dynamic simulations and laboratory testing using a motion simulator, we identify an optimal pendulum mass of 1.6 kg (17.6 % of total buoy mass) that maximizes energy output while maintaining buoy stability. Laboratory experiments achieved an average power output of 12.7 mW under Arctic-like wave and temperature conditions. The system was successfully deployed in the Bering Sea, where it generated 11 J of energy in 3.1 m waves, marking it the first Arctic deployment of a TENG-based drifting buoy for sea surface temperature monitoring, one of many potential monitoring applications. This work establishes a cost-effective framework for designing self-powered Arctic monitoring platforms and advances the feasibility of long-term environmental observations in Arctic waters.
We designed, optimized, and field-deployed a fully integrated self-powered Arctic Ocean (SPAO) buoy that converts ocean wave energy into electricity for long-term environmental monitoring. The system was successfully deployed in the southern Bering Sea under harsh sea states (Hₛ = 3.1 m, Tₚ = 7 s), where it autonomously powered onboard electronics and transmitted satellite data using harvested wave energy alone. The transmitted data include environmental measurements, harvested power output, and system energy consumption.