The fourth underwater glider mission began in March with the deployment of two refurbished gliders in the Caribbean Sea off Puerto Rico. The deployment was carried out by AOML researchers on board the R/V La Sultana with the help of personnel from the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM). The refurbished gliders have sensors that measure temperature, salinity, oxygen, Chlorophyll-a, and turbidity. The gliders will obtain approximately 2500 ocean profiles during this mission, which will last until June. In addition, several experiments will be carried out to assess glider-derived currents and sensor accuracy. The fifth mission is scheduled to start in August and will be geared towards obtaining critical temperature/salinity profile data that can be used in ocean-atmospheric models to help forecast tropical cyclone intensification.
Photo credit: NOAA