About Underwater Gliders
Gliders are a unique and important observing system used to serve a variety of subsurface observing missions. Gliders can monitor water currents, temperature, tagged animals and conditions that reveal effects from storms, impacts on fisheries, and the quality of our water. This information creates a more complete picture of what is happening in the ocean, as well as trends scientists might be able to detect. These versatile vehicles collect information from deep water, as well as at the surface, at lower cost and less risk than ever before. As scientists deploy more gliders, they are revolutionizing how we observe our ocean. These robots propel us closer to that revolution.
The IOOS Program Office has taken an active interest in this particular observing system as its role has begun to increase and show extensive value in subsurface water column observing. As a result we are managing a national glider data assembly center and we are working with the IOOC (Integrated Ocean Observing Committee) as part of a Glider Task Team.
Glider Applications Include
- Ecosystem dynamics monitoring
- MBARI dye tracking experiment
- Test performance of acoustic receivers and other sensors
- Fish stock mapping of Red Grouper and others
- Glider speed testing in the Gulf Stream
- Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) mapping
- Listening to tagged fish, whale acoustics
- Sustained and targeted ocean observations for improving tropical cyclone intensity and hurricane seasonal forecasts
- Upper ocean monitoring of U.S. Caribbean/ Atlantic Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ)
- Sampling around Station ALOHA and other long term stations
- Hydrographic mapping
- Ocean acidification sampling
- Climate monitoring
Glider Data Assembly Center
The Glider Data Assembly Center (DAC) represents the most comprehensive coordination the IOOS Program is providing to coordinate gliders across the Regional Associations and the nation. The mission of the Glider DAC is to provide glider operators with a simple process for submitting glider data sets to a centralized location, enabling the data to be visualized, analyzed, widely distributed via existing web services and the Global Telecommunications System (GTS) and archived at the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). To learn more about it, go to our partner site at gliders.ioos.us.
IOOC Glider Task Team
The primary goals of the IOOC Glider Task Team are to enable increased engagement with the glider community and to advance the coordinated use of glider observing systems to meet global, national and regional sub-surface observing requirements. To meet these goals, the IOOC Glider Task Team is collaborating with the IOOS Program Office, the Regional Associations and other federal inter-agency working groups identified to gather information and develop a strategy with recommended actions for increased collaboration and engagement.
Documents
White Papers
Toward a U.S. IOOS® Underwater Glider Network Plan 2014 (pdf)
A National Glider Network for Sustained Observation of the Coastal Ocean (pdf)
Presentations
IOOS DAC 101 IOOC Glider Task Team_160407
IOOS Glider DAC Demo NOAA EDM Mtg_160105