Gliders in Antarctica

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Welcome To Glider-pa-looza!
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What is an AUV/glider?

• Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
• Remotely controlled through satellites
• Connection available when glider is at the
  surface
• Sampling devices
• CTD (standard)
• Optics
• Chlorophyll
• Turbidity
• Light penetration

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Antenna (Iridium, Freewave, GPS Argos)
Science Payload Bay
Control Board
Buoyancy Pump
Air Bladder
Fin
Altimeter
CTD
Fore Hull
Cowling
Aft Hull
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How they work

• Battery Powered
• Normally Alkaline Batteries
• Long Duration Lithium Batteries

• Buoyancy Driven
• Buoyancy Pump
• Air Bladder

Buoyancy Pump
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How gliders fly
When surfacing to connect glider inflates air
bladder
Buoyancy pump in ? the glider pulls in 0.5 L of
water
Glider begins to dive downward
Push pump out? glider inflects and begins to
climb to the surface
one dive and one climb is called a yo
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Slocum Electric Glider Piloting
Iridium Antenna
ARGOS and FreeWave Antennas

• Communication when on a mission
• Satellite Iridium phone
• Send new missions and waypoints
• Receive data files from glider
• Currents, Roll, Pitch, Heading, etc.
• GPS

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Engineering

• Software
• Flight Dynamics -Creating the most efficient way
  to fly the glider
• Hardware
• Initial Build -optimizing the initial design
• Modifications Altering the glider in the most
  efficient way

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The Urbanized Mid-Atlantic Bight Ecosystem

• Experiences Some of the Largest
• Temperature Differences in the World
• Summer to Winter
• Top to Bottom
• Most Urbanized U.S. Coast

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CODAR

• High Frequency Radar
• Measures surface ocean currents velocities

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How it works

• 2 Antennae one transmits, the other receives
• Uses Doppler Shift to measure velocity
• Transmits signals up to 200 km
• Used to plan the first part of the flight of the
  glider

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• Satellite Data
• Sea Surface Temperature

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• Gulf Stream

• Warm water current
• 100 km wide
• 800 m to 1200 m deep
• Max speed 2.5 m/s (5.6 mph)
• Faster closer to the surface
• Winter average temperature at or above 25 C
  (77 F)

Gulf Stream
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Linear Mathematical Enhancement
Logarithmic Mathematical Enhancement
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Altimetry DataEddies Eddy Fields

• Cyclonic Eddies (Cold-Core Rings)
• Rotate Counterclockwise (in the Northern
  Hemisphere)
• Cold Center
• Depressed Center
• Anti-Cyclonic Eddies (Warm-Core Rings)
• Rotate Clockwise (in the Northern Hemisphere)
• Warm Center
• Bulged Center

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Planning the route

• Using CODAR to help plan the route
• Show the pattern of the currents at the time of
  deployment
• Help estimate where the glider should be deployed

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Rutgers Slocum Glider Fleet

• Over 165 deployments worldwide (2003 present)

gt 55,562 km flown (Earths circ. 40,000 km) gt
1,373 days in water 350,000 profiles
Liverpool Bay Coastal Observatory
Mediterranean Sea
Perth, Australia
West Florida Shelf
Mid-Atlantic Shelf
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Gliders in Antarctica
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Gliders in Antarctica

• At the center of the Climate Change issue
• Antarctica sees the greatest impact of warming
  and climate change on the planet and we have our
  gliders down there to figure out why
• Drastic changes to flora and fauna

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Gliders in Antarctica

• We will be able to use gliders to track where the
  penguins feed and travel, which will hopefully
  get a better understanding why they, as well as
  other organisms are losing numbers in their
  populations.
• We plan on flying the gliders to and from an
  American and a British base along the Western
  Antarctic Peninsula to gain a baseline in the
  ocean.

Photos by Andrew McDonnell
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Norway

• Build an observatory network and educational
  program for climate-induced variation on marine
  bio-diversity in the Arctic
• Implement an international partnership to train
  the next generation of oceanographers using the
  facilities at NTNU, Cal Poly, Rutgers University,
  and UNIS
• To strengthen academic relations to help
  understand how climate induced changes impact
  living resources and ecology of the Norwegian
  coast, Barents Sea, and the Arctic Ocean

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Trip to the Azores Islands
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RU COOL in Saint Thomas, USVI

• Jan. 22-26, 2009
• Testing Thermal Glider
• Initial deployment of Deep Glider
• Recruiting international students

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Gliders in Saint Thomas

• -First At Sea Delivery
• -354 mile flight mission
• -Implementing International Network
• -Recovered by UPRM Oceanographers

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The Adventure Begins

• RU17 was deployed off the coast of New Jersey on
  May 21st at 125pm

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• RU17s full path

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• RU17 Accomplishments

• RU17 flew a record breaking distance of 5,700.59
  km
• RU17 spent 160 days at sea (5 months and 1 week)
• Increase in student involvement, partnership,
  and outreach

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Changes made to RU27

• Reinforced CTD Mount
• CTD mounts to glider on both ends so it is
  sturdier
• Pressure Sensors
• Now plastic rather then metal to prevent
  corrosion
• 200 meter pump
• RU17 had a 100 meter pump
• Biofoul Precautions
• Rubberized hull coating
• Biofoul paint
• Aerodynamic Wingrails
• Coulomb Meter
• Measures the amount of power left in the
  batteries
• Software
• Better software for flying deep

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Biological Interactions and Gliders

• Biofouling
• Commensal Parasitic Relationships

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OBIS

• Large Marine Database teamed with the Census of
  Marine Life
• Currently housing 17 million records of 104,000
  species from 519 databases.
• Hosted by Rutgers University sponsored by the
  Sloan Foundation.

www.iobis.org
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Using the Data

• Planning Glider Paths
• Public Outreach and Education

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How Can You Get Involved

• Come Visit Our Class
• Wednesdays 915-1030 In the Coastal Ocean
  Observation Lab
• Room 109 In the Institute of Marine and Coastal
  Sciences Building
• Or Just Drop By. Our doors are always open!

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New This Year!

• Twitter
• RU27
• Facebook
• Ru Glider
• Dont forget!
• Atlantic Crossing Site with Blog
• rucool.marine.rutgers.edu/atlantic/

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Thank You

• Please Feel Free To Come See Our Gliders and Ask
  Questions!