Underwater glider
An underwater glider is a type of
While not as fast as conventional AUVs, gliders offer significantly greater range and endurance compared to traditional AUVs, extending ocean sampling missions from hours to weeks or months, and to thousands of kilometers of range.[1] The typical up-and-down, sawtooth-like profile followed by a glider can provide data on temporal and spatial scales unattainable by powered AUVs and much more costly to sample using traditional shipboard techniques. A wide variety of glider designs are in use by navies and ocean research organizations, with gliders typically costing around US$100,000.[2]
History
The concept of an underwater glider was first explored in the early 1960s with a prototype
By 2003, not only had a working thermal-powered glider (Slocum Thermal) been demonstrated by Webb Research (founded by Doug Webb), but they and other institutions had introduced battery-powered gliders with impressive duration and efficiency, far exceeding that of traditional survey-class AUVs.[6] These vehicles have been widely deployed in the years since then. The University of Washington Seaglider, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Spray, and Teledyne Webb Research Slocum vehicles have performed feats such as completing a transatlantic journey[7] and conducting sustained, multi-vehicle collaborative monitoring of oceanographic variables.[citation needed] In 2011, the first wingless glider, SeaExplorer, was released by a collaboration of French institutions and companies.[8]
In 2020, NOAA was using "hurricane gliders" to monitor the temperature of the water around the Gulf Stream, for the agency to better understand how warm waters affect hurricanes and storms.[9]
Functional description
Gliders typically make measurements such as
Gliders vary in the pressure they are able to withstand. The Slocum model is rated for 200 meter or 1000 meter depths. Spray can operate to 1500 meters, Seaglider to 1000 meters, SeaExplorer to 700, and Slocum Thermal to 1200. In August 2010, a Deep Glider variant of the Seaglider achieved a repeated 6000-meter operating depth.[citation needed] Similar depths have been reached by a Chinese glider in 2016.[10]
Liberdade class flying wings
In 2004, the US Navy
Payloads
Gliders were design to carry oceanographic instrumentation. Initially simple conductivity, temperature and depth sensors were equipped.[13][14] Since they are propelled by a buoyancy engine, gliders have moving parts that are only active occasionally, so there are minimal mechanical vibrations and noise making them excellent vehicles for sensitive instrumentation including microstructure probes [15] and acoustic sensors.
Many existing oceanographic sensors have been modified to fit into a glider, or designed specifically for gliders these include:[16]
- Fluorometers
- Photosynthetically Available Radiation (PAR) sensors
- Dissolved Oxygen optodes
- Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP)
- Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometry (LISST) instruments
- Nitrate sensors
- Active acoustics
- Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM)
- Shadowgraph cameras
- Microstructure (turbulence) probes
- Hydrocarbon sensors
The number of sensors a glider can be equipped with depends on how much space there is for sensors in its hull. Slocum gliders have modular hulls and can be extended to allow for new sensors to be added, other types of gliders only have their initial surface area that may be instrumented. For data reasons instruments may requires special positioning, such as on the top of the vehicle to capture light penetration from the surface, or at the very front of the vehicle, outside of the area where the vehicle influences the water’s flow for microstructure probes. The number of sensors may also be restricted by the power required to run them.
See also
- Autonomous underwater vehicle – Uncrewed underwater vehicle with autonomous guidance system
- Argo floats – International oceanographic observation program
- Liquid Robotics – American marine robotics corporation, developers of the Wave Glider
- Paravane (weapon)– Towed hydrofoiled underwater object
- Paravane (water kite) – Towed hydrofoiled underwater object
- DeepFlight Super Falcon – Winged personal submarine
- Autonomous Robotics Ltd – UK company developing an autonomous underwater vehicle
References
- ^ "Seaglider: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle". Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
- ^ US patent 7987674, Jack A. Jones; Yi Chao & Thomas I. Valdez, "Phase Change Material Thermal Power Generator", issued 2011-08-02
- ^ a b c Jenkins, Scott A.; Humphreys, Douglas E; Sherman, Jeff; Osse, Jim; Jones, Clayton; Leonard, Naomi (May 6, 2003), Underwater Glider System Study, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Report No. 53, retrieved May 26, 2012
- ^ US patent 3204596, Ewan S. Fallon, "Hydroglider", issued 1965-09-07
- ^ "Perpetual Autonomus Survey Submersible". Tony Bigras. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ Autonomous buoyancy-driven underwater gliders
- ^ Kirk Moore, "Rutgers undersea glider makes trans-Atlantic crossing," Daily Record, December 6, 2009 "Welcome to nginx eaa1a9e1db47ffcca16305566a6efba4!185.15.56.1". Archived from the original on 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ Claustre, Hervé; Beguery, Laurent; Pla, Patrice (March 2014). "SeaExplorer glider breaks two world records". Sea Technology. 55 (3): 19–22 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "NOAA: 50 Years of Science, Service and Stewardship". Issuu. 2020-10-03. pp. 84–85. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ^ Chen, Stephen (1 September 2016). "PLA Navy eyes China's deep-sea underwater glider after successful test shows it rivals US vessel". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
- ^ a b D'Spain, Gerald L., XRay/ZRay Flying Wing Gliders, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, retrieved May 25, 2012[permanent dead link]
- ^ Liberdade XRay Advanced Underwater Glider, Office of Naval Research, April 19, 2006, archived from the original on April 19, 2013, retrieved May 25, 2012
- ISSN 0364-9059.
- ISSN 0364-9059.
- S2CID 37954022.
- ^ https://www.teledynemarine.com/en-us/products/SiteAssets/Webb%20Research/Teledyne%20Webb%20Research%20G3%20Brochure%202020-FINAL.pdf
External links
- GROOM - Gliders for Research, Ocean Observation and Management
- COST Action ES0904
- EGO network - glider user group
- Seaexplorer page at ALSEAMAR-ALCEN
- Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands -PLOCAN-
- Spray page at Scripps Institution of Oceanography
- Spray underwater glider database
- Seaglider page at Applied Physics Laboratory - University of Washington
- Seaglider Operations page at APL-UW
- Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observations Lab -- Glider Operations
- Slocum page at Webb Research Corp.
- Underwater glider configurations and details - AUVAC.org[permanent dead link]
- Underwater Gliders for Ocean Research
- Robot glider harvests ocean heat
- National Oceanography Centre, UK. Glider Home Page