EXPANDING THE ARCTIC WAVEGLIDER FLEET

Abstract

Purchase of two waveglider surface vehicles is proposed to expand ongoing Arctic research supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR, Code 322). Wavegliders are a proven solution to measure surface meteorological and ocean (i.e., met-ocean) parameters autonomously. Wavegliders can operate for months at a time for a fraction of the cost of a research vessel, while carrying out complex survey patterns, navigating in realtime, or station-keeping. The newwavegliders would be operated cooperatively with two existing wavegliders in the ONR Arctic program. The combined fleet of four wavegliders would operate as a system that enables adaptive sampling of met-ocean processes, with particular emphasis spatial calculations not possible with singular space-time data (e.g., eddy vorticity, wind stress curl). These signals are significant in the Arctic, where the rapidly changing ice cover forces strong spatial gradients.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Jul 10, 2018
Source ID
N000141812473

Entities

People

  • James Thomson

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • University of Washington

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science
  • Physics

Readers

  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Polar and Arctic Studies

Technology Areas

  • Space