In learning more about Walter Munk this week, we heard about his original investigations into the predictions of wave motion and propagation from their origin in storms off Antarctica to the waves arriving in Alaska. As part of that research, one of the recording stations had to be out in the middle of the ocean. To record the data at this location, Munk obtained permission to use "FLIP" which stands for "Floating Instrument Platform." But FLIP does more than float; it actually flips! FLIP does not have any engines to minimize
potential interference with data gathering instrumentation, so it is towed to wherever it is needed in a horizontal position and then literally "flips" to a vertical position in the water.
As you can imagine, everything inside FLIP must operate at two angles,
90 degrees apart. Even the toilets rotate to stay level. It is owned
by the Scripps Institute located in San Diego. There are a number of
fascinating videos about FLIP on YouTube, including this
video that shows it flipping and another
video that takes you on a walking tour both inside and out. It’s absolutely fascinating!
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