Abstract: The invention concerns an ocean bottom station, such as an ocean bottom hydrophone (OBH) or an ocean bottom seismometer (OBS), designed to perform in situ measurements, comprising a support structure with positive buoyancy where-with is associated at least on detachable ballast to bring said support structure to the ocean bottom during a measurement session, the support structure including at least one hydrophone, one data acquisition unit for recording measurement data from the hydrophone and a device for releasing said detachable ballast. The invention is characterized in that the data acquisition unit serves to control the releasing device in response to an acoustic release command received by the hydrophone.