Page 43: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2020)

lent due to their proven performance. puter models and data from the gliders, al communities.

Taking weather forecasts into account, researchers from Rutgers University researchers directed the gliders towards determined that strong winds on the Measuring the Changing Ocean a storm’s anticipated path several days leading edge of the hurricane set up a Beneath Hurricane Michael in advance. Glider transects were coor- downwelling circulation that caused Pro? ling ? oat technology has trans- dinated and oriented to run across the the cold bottom water to be carried off- formed how the ocean is observed. This path of the storm, covering the mid to shore. Thus, there was no available cold method was pioneered by scientists and outer continental shelf, along much of water to mix to the surface and thereby engineers at Teledyne Webb Research the U.S. east coast. diminish the storm’s intensity when its and Scripps Institution of Oceanogra-

In the mid-Atlantic Bight, which ex- eye passed over the same region; the phy. The international Argo program tends from Cape Cod, MA to Cape storm intensity was, in fact, signi? cantly has deployed ? eets of these devices for

Hatteras, NC, the continental shelf is stronger than would have been conven- sustained and widespread exploration shallow. Its deep waters are well docu- tionally predicted. of the global ocean. The resulting data mented to be much colder than surface The success of using Slocum gliders sets form a rich resource for studying waters during summer time. Consider- for storm monitoring is apparent from climate and ocean processes. ing the oceanic upwelling below the eye the growing size of the ? eet. In 2018, Many of these devices are the Autono- of a storm, the surfacing of these cold more than thirty gliders were on duty for mous Pro? ling Explorer (APEX) ? oats waters might be expected to weaken a observing hurricanes Florence, Isaac, supplied by Teledyne Webb Research, passing hurricane. and Helene. Participating glider organi- which has delivered over 10,000 pro-

Two Slocum gliders, deployed ahead zations came together from government, ? ling ? oats to the Argo program—the of Hurricane Sandy, helped tell a dif- academia, and industry in a team effort largest quantity from one supplier. ferent story in that case. Using com- to use technology to better protect coast- APEX ? oats make periodic vertical cy-

Fig. 5

Three picket lines of Hurricane Sentinel gliders were at work on the same day in 2018.

Credit: U.S. IOOS Glider Data Assembly Center www.marinetechnologynews.com

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