Using A Fleet of Slocum Battery Gliders

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Using A Fleet of Slocum Battery Gliders in a
Regional Scale Coastal Ocean Observatory
Elizabeth L. Creed, Chhaya Mudgal, Scott M.
Glenn and Oscar M. Schofield Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey New Brunswick, NJ
08901 Clayton P. Jones and Douglas C. Webb Webb
Research Corporation Falmouth, MA 02536
Webb Research Corporation
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Development of Slocum Gliders Funded By
Office of Naval Research
State of New Jersey
National Ocean Partnership Program
NOAA National Undersea Research Program
National Science Foundation
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Slocum Electric Glider
Length 1.5 m
Weight 52 kg
Hull Diameter 21.3 cm
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Slocum Electric Glider
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Slocum Electric Glider
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Slocum Electric Glider Communication
Iridium Antenna
ARGOS and FreeWave Antennas
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Glider Communication
Communication between the Glider and the Shore
Command Center can be done in three ways
1) FreeWave modems for local, high speed
communication Line of Sight RF (928MHz) 2)
ARGOS as a recovery beacon 3) Iridium for
bi-directional, long distance communications
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Glider Operation
Moves in a saw-toothed trajectory
Forward speed of 1 knot
Depth range 4-200 meters
Navigation done using GPS, dead reckoning and
the altimeter
Average deployment duration is 30 days and 1500 km
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Glider Abort Mechanism
Jettison Weight
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Slocum Electric Glider
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Hydroscat 2 Mounted In Glider Science Bay
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Hydroscat 2 and CTD Mounted in Glider Science Bay
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Controlling the Gliders
A Mission Control Center is under construction to
guide the fleet of Gliders in their data
collection
The goal of the Center is to develop a
flexible autonomous and responsive tool to
coordinate the missions of the Glider Fleet
This goal will be accomplished by the
Center using data transmitted to it from 1)
The Glider Fleet 2) Other scientific systems -
CODAR SSTs, SeaWifs
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Controlling the Glider
A Mission is defined as a set of scientific
instructions that tell the Glider(s) where and
how to sample
The Mission can track vertical features such
as thermoclines or horizontal features such
as fronts
Implementation of the Mission Control Center is
based on Agent Oriented Programming Deals with
the construction of software agents which are
entities that behave rationally, have decision
making capabilities and act on behalf of the
user - each data source has an agent Decisions
are made using an influence diagram
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Mission Control Center
2 branches of the Center 1) Decision
making 2) Data visualization and Glider tracking
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Glider Control Software Flow Chart
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Temperature Data July 2000
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Salinity Comparison
Temperature Comparison
Depth (m)
Depth (m)
Salinity (psu)
Temperature (C)
July 2000
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Along-Shore Average Velocity Component of Glider
and ADCP
July 2000
Cross-Shore Average Velocity Component of Glider
and ADCP
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Hydroscat 2 Optical Backscatter
Transect 2, August 2002
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Slocum Glider Simulator Track
October 22, 2002
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Future Plans
Software The agent software will become part of
the Gliders on-board computer
Field Work Long-term Glider tests are planned
for the New York Bight Apex to observe the
interaction of the Hudson River plume
with the stratified continental shelf waters
Instrumentation 1) Miniaturization and
installation of a hyperspectral
spectrophotometer 2) Installation of a hockey
puck sized absorption and attenuation meter
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Conclusions
Gliders will provide scientists with continuous
and spatially extensive data Independent of
ship and personnel availability Independent of
weather
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Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observatory Lab
Website http//marine.rutgers.edu/cool
Glider Testing Center