A research buoy used for monitoring ocean climate conditions in the sea close to a north Atlantic glacier has been found washed up in Sutherland.
The device, moored 3,281ft down, last transmitted in 2015 and was thought to be lost after unsuccessful efforts to retrieve it.
On February 9, the yellow buoy was found washed up next to Clachtoll Beach Campsite.
Scientists said it had travelled 1,098 miles and was found with a sea anemone, a type of underwater animal native to Greenland, still attached to it.
More details about the buoy have recently been discovered after the owners of the campsite contacted the manufacturers of the device.
It has emerged that the equipment had been deployed by New York University.
The device is among a number that are regularly deployed and then retrieved by scientists gathering data on ocean climate conditions near the Helheim Glacier.
After the buoy’s last transmission in 2015, scientists chartered a boat to go out and retrieve it. But the mission was aborted after the boat sank.
Other unsuccessful attempts were made to collect the apparatus and the researchers had subsequently written it off as lost.
This week, the university said it was delighted to learn of the discovery and sent out special cases to the campsite to allow the equipment to be returned safely.
