Data Access Options
Project
California Underwater Glider Network (CUGN)
Site
CUGN Line 90
Date Range
2017-11-13 to 2018-03-01
Sensors
This file contains data from the following specific instruments: Sea-Bird SBE 41CP CTD, Seapoint chlorophyll fluorometer, Sea-Bird SBE 63 dissolved oxygen sensor.
Summary
Spray glider data from mission 17B06401, part of the California Underwater Glider Network (CUGN) project. This is the complete science-quality dataset for the full mission, spanning from 2017-11-13 to 2018-03-01.
The overarching goal of the California Underwater Glider Network is to sustain baseline observations of climate variability off the coast of California. The technical approach is to deploy autonomous underwater gliders in a network to provide real-time data.
The CUGN uses Spray underwater gliders making repeated dives from the surface to 500 m and back, repeating the cycle every 3 hours, and traveling 3 km in the horizontal during that time. The CUGN includes gliders on three of the traditional cross-shore CalCOFI lines: line 66.7 off Monterey Bay, line 80 off Point Conception, and line 90 off Dana Point.
The glider missions typically last about 100 days, and cover over 2000 km, thus providing 4-6 sections on lines extending 300-500 km offshore. Since 2005 the CUGN has covered 200,000 km over ground in 28 glider-years, while doing 90,000 dives.
This is a delayed-mode science-quality data product providing the highest-resolution and highest quality data for this mission. After a glider mission is complete and the glider is recovered, the full-resolution data are downloaded and quality controlled resulting in this data product. This product is typically available three to six months after a glider mission is complete.
The delayed-mode science quality full-resolution data product should be used in place of near-real-time data once this higher-quality data product is available. This is a rigorously quality controlled dataset, the results of quality control tests are included as flags. Where appropriate, in addition to the original data with quality flags, corrected variables are also provided. These are noted in the variable metadata.Users of the data must apply the quality control flag variables referenced as ancillary variables on the data variables, these flags provide necessary information for using the data.
About these measurements: A Spray glider moves slowly through the water and collects information about the water it is traveling through. It collects a series of vertical profiles from the ocean seafloor (up to 1000m deep) to the ocean surface. In typical operations to 1000 m depth, a Spray glider travels 15 miles and makes 4 profiles per day. When on the ocean surface, about every three to six hours, it sends the information it collected underwater back via satellite, and then dives back down to continue collecting data.
The Spray ocean glider carries a pumped Sea-Bird CTD to measure pressure, temperature, and salinity, a Seapoint fluorometer, and a Sea-Bird dissolved oxygen sensor. Additionally, a Nortek acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measures depth dependent water velocity. The ocean glider position is measured at the surface at the beginning and end of each dive by GPS, allowing for a dead reckoning estimation of depth averaged water velocity.
An underwater glider runs on batteries and can stay out to sea for months at a time. Spray gliders collect observations on the ascent of a dive. Sensor observations are not collected on the descent and one vertical profile of observations is collected on the ascent of each dive.
Contributors
Daniel Rudnick (principalInvestigator), Jennifer Sevadjian (resourceProvider)
References
Rudnick, D. L. (2016). Ocean research enabled by underwater gliders. Annual review of marine science, 8, 519-541, doi:10.1146/annurev-marine-122414-033913
Rudnick, D. L., Davis, R. E., & Sherman, J. T. (2016). Spray Underwater Glider Operations. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 33(6), 1113-1122, doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-15-0252.1
Rudnick, D. L., Davis, R. E., Eriksen, C. C., Fratantoni, D. M., & Perry, M. J. (2004). Underwater gliders for ocean research. Marine Technology Society Journal, 38(2), 73-84, doi:10.4031/002533204787522703
Sherman, J., Davis, R. E., Owens, W. B., & Valdes, J. (2001). The autonomous underwater glider 'Spray'. IEEE Journal of oceanic Engineering, 26(4), 437-446, doi:10.1109/48.972076
Acknowledgement
Funded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing (GOMO) Program and Integrated Ocean Observing System. Supported by Instrument Development Group - Scripps Institution of Oceanography