Page 34: of Marine Technology Magazine (November 2024)

GLIDERS

A new climatology from Spray underwater glider measurements provides insights into how the Gulf Stream is changing over time.

This graphic shows average temperature, location and strength of the Gulf Stream near the ocean surface from 2015-2023.

Generation 2

Spray glider

Water temperature anomalies off Southern California and in the east-central tropical Paci? c Ocean.

Images this page: © Daniel Rudnick, Scripps Institute of Oceanography

The Spray Data website provides public access to obser- which plays a key role in global ocean dynamic, has changed vations from Spray projects globally spanning the last 20 during the past 13 years. More than 25,000 temperatures and years. “Real-time observations are distributed for inclusion salinity pro? les collected by Sprays helped identify that the in weather forecasts and science quality data are available Gulf Stream now has a surface layer of warmer and lighter wa- to enable integrated ocean research,” said Daniel Rudnick, ter, contributing to increased upper ocean strati? cation.

principal investigator and director of the Instrument Devel- New advancements and projects for the gliders will be exciting, opment Group at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and noted Rudnick and Sevadjian. The second-generation Sprays

Jennifer Sevadjian, Spray Glider data manager. “Products will have twice the battery power and be designed to support new like climatologies, anomalies and indices are available for sensors to measure pH, nitrate, optical backscatter and down- sustained projects like our longest running project the Cali- welling irradiance in addition to the current suite. Applications fornia Underwater Glider Network.” for the new Spray include monitoring the effects of El Niño and

Spray’s work has been fundamental in ocean observations, es- the effects that warm water (including marine heatwaves) have pecially in Southern California. “We noticed strong coupling on ecosystems and ? sheries, monitoring harmful algal bloom ini- between ocean temperature at the equator and our glider mea- tiation in offshore environments, monitoring ocean acidi? cation surements of the California Current System,” Rudnick and Sev- and hypoxia, and providing critical data to resource managers.

adjian explained, “So we created the Southern California Tem- perature Index (SCTI) as a way to easily track the two.” The EARS AT SEA indices depict the deviation of ocean temperature from normal ALSEAMAR also boasts several gliders for ocean explo- for that time of year and have become a standard measure in the ration. The SeaExplorer X3 is its latest generation of under- region. New climatology from Spray underwater glider mea- water glider, incorporating improvements in power ef? ciency, surements has also provided insights into how the Gulf Stream, acoustic noise reduction and data-reading reliability. Appli- 34 November/December 2024

MTR #8 (34-47).indd 34 11/20/2024 10:38:04 AM