Profiling Winches for the Arctic Wave Gliders
Abstract
Purchase of profiling winch systems for two existing wave glider surface vehicles is proposed to expand ongoing Arctic research supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR, Code 322). The winch systems will enable autonomous profiles of ocean temperature and salinity in the upper 200 m of the Arctic Ocean. Wave gliders are already a proven solution to measure surface meteorological and ocean (i.e., met-ocean) parameters autonomously, and the winches willextend capabilities to the sub-surface. The winches are recently available from Liquid Robotics, Inc, who produce the wave gliders commercially and thus can ensure seamless integration. Wave gliders 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 profiling wave gliders operate as a system that enables adaptive sampling of met-oceanprocesses, 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.Purchase of profiling winch systems for two existing wave glider surface vehicles is proposed to expand ongoing Arctic research supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR, Code 322). Wave gliders are already a proven solution to measure surface meteorological and ocean (i.e., met-ocean) parameters autonomously. The available upgrade of profiling winches extends this autonomy to the sub-surface with profiles of temperature and salinity down to 200 m. Combinedwith full autonomy during seasonal missions, the upgraded wave gliders will perform many similar tasks to research vessels, but at a fraction of the cost. This efficiency is derived from a combination of solar power for sensor payloads and wave motion for propulsion
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 20, 2019
- Source ID
- N000141912616
Entities
People
- James Thomson
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Washington