Gliders - Known to be incomplete
2006
C. Lee, C Eriksen and others, University of Washington: From 2006-2014 fourteen deployments of Seagliders took place in Davis Strait, between Greenland and Baffin Island. The technical developments required for extended under ice operations included acoustic ranging from moored sound sources.
2007
C. Jones and D. Webb, Webb Research, J. Kohut and others, Rutgers University: Pilot deployment of a Webb Research Slocum glider offshore Palmer Station, Anvers Island, Western Antarctic Peninsula. An initial 40km offshore transect was followed by an along-shore transect of 400km on a 23-day mission. The glider carried a CTD and optical sensors.
B. de Young and others, Memorial University of Newfoundland: Illulissat Fjord, Greenland: feasibility trials for Slocum glider missions to 150m with the glider's altimeter modified to act as an upward-looking sonar.
2008
L. Kahl, O. Schofield, Rutgers University and W. Fraser, Montana State University: Physical and optical measurements from a Teledyne Webb Slocum glider in the Palmer Basin, off Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula at a 'biological hotspot' in a study on the relationship between water column features and Adelie Penguin foraging sites.
J. Ullgren, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre, W-J von Appen, Alfred Wegener Institute, and others: Glider observations of oceanic conditions in Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard were made between 2008 and 2012 as part of the EU DAMOCLES and ACOBAR projects.
2010
F. Carvalho and others, Rutgers University: The start of an extensive programme running to 2015 using Teledyne Webb Slocum gliders to study mixing and phytoplankton dynamics off the Western Antarctic Peninsula from Palmer Station, Anvers Island. Instruments included a fluorescence induction and relaxation (FIRe) sensor to measure variable fluorescence, providing estimates of algal physiological variables.
V. Asper, University of Southern Mississippi and several others: Deployment of two Seagliders to observe the development of the annual spring bloom in the south western Ross Sea. The gliders were fitted with a CTD, dissolved oxygen sensor, optical backscatter with a WetLabs BBFL2-VMT and chlorophyll and CDOM fluorescence. Dissolved oxygen dynamics were measured during the phytoplankton bloom. Launch was into the McMurdo Sound Polynya. from the ice edge and an breathing hole.
J. Kohut and E. Hunter, Rutgers University and B. Huber, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory: Observations of modified Circumpolar Deep Water in the western Ross Sea using a 1000m Webb Research Slocum glider. The 52-day mission took the glider over several banks in the western Ross Sea and across Joides Trough. Launched from the edge of the sea ice off Ross Island, the initial data from the glider helped in planning the shipboard measurement campaign. The standard fluorometer data was later used with a new algorithm to estimate the degree of fluorescence quenching and subsequently to estimate a proxy for iron limitation by Ryan-Keogh and Smith (2021).
O. Schofield, Rutgers University and many others: Observations of phytoplankton distributions in the Amundsen Sea polynya using Slocum gliders. The 2010-11 measurements were part of the Amundsen Sea Polynya International Research Expedition on the RV Nathaniel B Palmer, with additional deployments in January 2014 were from the Korean Polar Research Institute's RV Araon.
2012
L. Biddle, J. Kaiser and others, University of East Anglia, A. Thompson, CalTech and A. Jenkins, British Antarctic Survey: Observations of iceberg-enhanced biological production in the northwestern Weddell Sea. Elevated dissolved oxygen concentrations, a marker of primary productivity, was found in profiles of a single Seaglider when within the vicinity of iceberg tracks.
K. Heywood, University of East Anglia, D. Guihen, S. Fielding and E. Murphy, British Antarctic Survey, A. Thompson, CalTech: Use of a purpose-built Imagenex 853 120kHz single beam calibrated echosounder on a Seaglider to assess its usefulness in making measuring krill distribution and density in the northern Weddell Sea. Acoustic estimates were compared with data from krill target strength models and net haul data. Separately, ocean physics measurements were used to survey the flow over the continental shelf and slope of the Northern Weddell Sea, and also of eddy transport.
D. Ainley, H.T. Harvey & Associates, G Ballard, Point Blue Conservation Science and others: Use of a Seaglider with an Imagenex 853 echosounder to study trophic cascades in the western Ross Sea off Cape Crozier, Ross Island.
H. Venables, M. Meredith, A. Brearley, British Antarctic Survey: Slocum glider deployments over three summer seasons 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2015/16 off the western Antarctic Peninsula demonstrated the importance of seabed bathymetric features inducing local mixing events for the modification of Circumpolar Deep Water as it flowed onto the shelf.
2014
T. Miles, Rutgers University and others: Observations of the outflow of meltwater-laden modified Circumpolar Deep Water from the Dotson Ice Shelf, Amundsen Sea using a 1000m Slocum glider, able to dive to near the maximum depth of the Dotson Trough. A second, 100m-rated Slocum provided information on the upper water column. Support vessel, RV Araon.
University of East Anglia: Deployment of two Seagliders in the Amundsen Sea near the Pine Island Glacier as part of the Ocean2Ice programme. See the narrative and Section 7 of the RRS James Clark Ross cruise report for full details of problems with the Seagliders. Mission 19 at the UEA Glider site.
A. Thompson, CalTech and K. Heywood and others, University of East Anglia: Deployment of two Seagliders and one Liquid Robotics WaveGlider to determine the variability in the flow at the continental shelf break to the north of the South Shetland Islands, upstream and downstream of the Shackleton Fracture Zone. Deployment from the RV Laurence M. Gould as part of the ChinStrAP programme. Mission 24 at the UEA Glider site.
N. Fraser and others, Scottish Association for Marine Science: Deployment of two Slocum gliders inside Isfjorden, Svalbard to measure the hydrographical properties and depth-averaged currents. Evidence was found of a wind-driven geostrophic control mechanism at the mouth of the fjord.
K. Latarius and U. Schauer, University of Hamburg: Summertime deployments of gliders in 2014 and 2015 at the edge of the East Greenland Current at about 75˚N and between 2˚ and 8˚W to understand the processes causing freshwater 'leakage' from the East Greenland Current to the Greenland Sea.
2015
M. Zhou, B. de Young and R. Bachmayer, Memorial University of Newfoundland: While not strictly polar, in that the iceberg was grounded off Newfoundland, Zhou and others used a hybrid (propeller and buoyancy engine) glider with a sonar to map the sides of the iceberg. A guidance system had been developed for the glider to avoid obstacles and keep a set distance off the iceberg, including an adaptive heading controller.
2016
A. Bosse and I Fer, University of Bergen: Successive deployments of two Seagliders from June 2016 to July 2017 to observe the Polar Front across the Mohn Ridge and calculate depth average currents.
2017
A. Forrest, University of California, Davis and others: Observations of water column properties, especially plumes of supercooled water, in front of the Nansen Ice Shelf, western Ross Sea using a Slocum glider, as part of the Land-Ice/Ocean Network Exploration with Semiautonomous Systems (LIONESS) collaborative programme led by the Korean Polar Research Institute with the icebreaker RV Araon.
C. Waldmann and others, HGF-Alliance ROBEX partnership: Trials of a new type of 'flying wing' underwater glider - MAPPA - in Fram Strait on RV Polarstern cruise PS108.
M. Porter and others, Scottish Association for Marine Science: A summertime study of the Arctic Polar Front in the Barents Sea from a succession of south-north transects along 30˚E between 74.5˚ and 76.5˚N. The shallow Slocum glider profiled to 200m over 744 profiles with an average spacing of 1km.
J. Desrochers and others, University of Rhode Island, University of Washington, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography: Changes in the hydrography of the Beaufort Sea over the last few decades have resulted in a subsurface sound speed duct that supports long range acoustic communication. In an experiment to gather data in support of an acoustic modelling programme two Seagliders traversed between five moored sound sources transmitting near 250 Hz.
K. Hendry, University of Bristol and others: Two Slocum gliders were deployed on an 8-day mission off the shelf break of southern Greenland at about 63˚N 53˚W in a study to trace glacial meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Bio-optical properties acted as the tracer of meltwater, namely high optical backscatter and fluorescing dissolved organic matter, easily observed with combined optical sensors carried by the gliders.
2018
K. Heywood and others, University of East Anglia: Seaglider deployments in the Bellingshausen Sea, followed by two Seagliders for 49 days in 2020, Missions 50 and 59 at the UEA Glider site. Observations were of the purported Antarctic Slope Front at the shelf break. These observations contributed to a new description of the shelf circulation of the Bellingshausen Sea, Schulze Chretien et al. (2021).
S. Swart and others, University of Gothenburg and K. Heywood and others, University of East Anglia, CalTech: 'Robotic Observations and Modelling of the Marginal Ice Zone' - a multi-year project with an aim to study the full seasonal cycle of the upper ocean in the marginal ice zone near the Greenwich Meridian at 55-60˚S using Seagliders. Observations from the gliders contributed to a published study of how stirring of sea-ice meltwater enhanced submesoscale fronts.
R. Wynn and others, National Oceanography Centre, UK: Short, 4-day, deployment of two Slocum gliders near Bear Island in the MASSMO-5 exercise whose primary aim was to assess and demonstrate how the UK Royal Navy could use and exploit glider data for operational purposes.
C. Lee and others, University of Washington, P. Dutrieux, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory: Long-term deployment of three Seagliders off the Dotson Glacier, Amundsen Sea. Over the first year, the two surviving gliders ventured 18 times under the ice shelf, "repeatedly reaching more than 40km into the cavity". Deployment was from the RV Araon. Three acoustic beacons were moored to the seafloor to allow the gliders to navigate under the ice shelf without the need for high power consumption navigation sensors.
L. Crews, C. Lee and others, University of Washington: Deployment of five Seagliders in the Beaufort Sea in September–October as part of the US Office of Naval Research Stratified Ocean Dynamics of the Arctic experiment (SODA). The temperature and salinity profiles from the Seagliders contributed to new understanding of the mechanisms that drive freeze-up heterogeneity. Technical issues led to the early recovery of two of the gliders, while two others continued providing data until February 2019 while embedded in ice.
C. Reiss and others, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center: Deployment of two Slocum G3 gliders at the northern Antarctic Peninsula, off Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island and in the Bransfield Strait. Each glider was equipped with an acoustic zooplankton fish profiler and gathered acoustic estimates of krill biomass density. Estimates from the glider were comparable with contemporaneous estimates from equipment on the ship Laurence M. Gould.
E. Kolas and others, University of Bergen and University Center in Svalbard: Between September and November a Seaglider was deployed north of Svalbard to investigate seasonal variations in the boundary current and warm-core eddies in the Sofia Deep, whose typical diameter was less than 10 km.
2019
University of East Anglia: Deployment of a single Seaglider in the Bransfield Strait by the ice strengthened Brazilian research ship Almirante Maximiano. Mission 49 at the UEA Glider site.
University of East Anglia: Deployment of two Seagliders, one with a turbulence microstructure sensor, in the northern Weddell Sea from RV Polarstern. Aim was to study the processes controlling the floa and watermass formation on the western Weddell Sea shelf. Mission 51 at the UEA Glider site. Details in the RV Polarstern Cruise Report from page 82 onwards.
A. Forrest and others, University of California, Davis: Short deployment (20 hours) of a Slocum glider with a turbulence sensor beneath the Nansen ice shelf, western Ross Sea.
B. Queste and others, University of East Anglia, A. Thompson, Caltech: Seaglider deployments at the Thwaites Glacier, Amundsen Sea as part of the Thwaites Offshore Research programme.
2020
University of East Anglia: Deployment of two Seagliders in the Bellingshausen Sea spanning 70˚S and 90˚W for over two months. Mission 59 at the UEA Glider site.
University of East Anglia: Deployment of a single Seaglider in the region of the South Scotia Ridge between 61˚ 30' and 62˚ S on a 38-day mission. In addition to a CTD the glider was equipped with PAR, oxygen and a bio-optical sensor and an Acousonde, a miniature self-contained recording device used for, among other tasks, recording the sounds of marine wildlife. Mission 61 at the UEA Glider site.
Istito Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale, Italy: A single Seaglider with a CTD and BBFL2IRB optical sensor was deployed for eight days in the Estern Ross Sea near 76˚ 40' N 167˚ W, north of the Bay of Whales, Ross Ice Shelf. Data from this contribution to the ESTRO project is available.
2021
University of Gothenburg: Deployment of two Seagliders and a Sailbuoy autonomous surface vehicle in the Maud Rise area of the Weddell Sea as part of the EU Horizon 2020 project Southern Ocean Carbon and Heat Impact on Climate (SO-CHIC) project. Deployed from the RV Agullhas II these autonomous platforms were intended to remain at sea for a year.
British Antarctic Survey and UK National Oceanography Centre: Two Slocum gliders were deployed from the RRS James Cook to investigate the large iceberg A68 and its impact on the surrounding water when it was near South Georgia. Both gliders suffered loss of communication, one, 'Doombar', reestablished contact after two weeks with data showing it had been beneath the iceberg at a depth of about 160 m and was recovered by MV Pharos. The other glider, 'HSB', was presumed lost.
A. Peterson, University of Bergen: Deployment of a single Seaglider in November in an ice-free area near the Polar Front in the central Barents Sea at 78.6˚N 31˚E.
2022
University of East Anglia: Deployment of six Seagliders immediately adjacent to the icefront of the Dotson Glacier, Amundsen Sea, Antarctica and in open water to the northwest from RV Nathaniel B. Palmer. A major contribution to the multinational TARSAN project. Mission 64 at the UEA Glider site.
Webb Research Slocum glider on its first deployment to the Antarctic in 2007. A 23-day mission was completed successfully offshore Anvers Island, Western Antarctic Peninsula. Image from Jones et al. (2007).
Webb Research Slocum glider on a trial deployment from the vessel Clane in Illulissat Fjord, Greenland, by Memorial University Newfoundland in 2007. Image by Brad de Young.
A Seaglider, just visible as an orange dot next the inflatable boat, being deployed in the Davis Strait as part of a multi-year programme by the University of Washington. Image from the Applied Physics Laboratory.
