Instrumented Wave Gliders for Air-Sea Interaction and Upper Ocean Research

Abstract

Over the last several years, the Air-Sea Interaction Laboratory at Scripps Institution of Oceanography has developed a fleet of wave-powered, uncrewed Wave Gliders (Liquid Robotics) specifically designed and instrumented for state-of-the-art air-sea interaction and upper ocean observations. In this study, measurement capabilities from these platforms are carefully described, compared, and validated against coincident measurements from well-established, independent data sources. Data collected from four major field programs from 2013 to 2020 are considered in the analysis. Case studies focusing on air-sea interaction, Langmuir circulations, and frontal processes are presented. We demonstrate here that these novel, instrumented platforms are capable of collecting observations with minimal flow-structure interaction in the air-sea boundary layer, a region of crucial current and future importance for models of weather and climate.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Aug 16, 2021
Source ID
10.3389/fmars.2021.664728

Entities

People

  • Laurent Grare
  • Luc Lenain
  • Nicholas M. Statom
  • Nick Pizzo

Organizations

  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • Office of Naval Research

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • Autonomy