Mission Operations: Postcards from the Field

Mission Operations: Postcards from the Field

Lorraine Day — May 29, 2018

We’ve conducted Wave Glider missions around the world – from the Arctic to the Southern Ocean (Antarctica), from Indonesia to the North Sea, and in all five of the world’s oceans. Regularly, we receive “postcards” from our mission specialists while they’re traveling the globe. We thought we’d share a few of our favorites from years past. Enjoy!

 

Traveling Through the Suez Canal

Great shot of Wave Gliders traveling through the Suez Canal on their way to a large fleet deployment. Best views!

 

Brrr…Extreme Sea State Testing in Iceland

Danny Merritt, Mike Kopra, and Dustin Boettcher take a break during their extreme sea state testing off the coast of Iceland. Their job was to prepare Wave Gliders to take on some of the biggest seas on the planet for a long duration reliability testing program. Working with Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Icelandic Coast Guard, Wave Gliders were outfitted with meteorological and oceanographic sensors contributing physical oceanographic data with cameras to ground truth wave height readings. During the mission, Wave Gliders performed in seas in excess of 10 meters (sea state 8)!

 

Smile, PLOCAN (The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands) Students

PLOCAN, an oceanographic research organization located in the Gran Canaria, Spain, has a highly respected glider school dedicated to the integration and training of advanced marine technologies. They use Wave Gliders and other autonomous systems to help monitor and observe ocean activity. At this year’s annual glider training, Billy Middleton of Liquid Robotics was invited to conduct Wave Glider launch and recovery classes. After training, a class photo with the Wave Glider was a must!

 
 

From Great White Sharks to Lions in South Africa

Danny Merritt won the Liquid Robotics Field Operations (unofficial) best travel selfies award on travel to South Africa where he captured lions and white sharks in the same trip. Working with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at Sea Technology Services in Cape Town, Danny was in South Africa to help prepare the Wave Glider for another very challenging mission in the understudied Southern Ocean (Antarctica).

 

End of the Day, Watching Greenland’s Sunset with a New Friend

While on a Wave Glider mission in Greenland in the tiny village of Upernavik, south of Baffin Bay, Dustin Boettcher from Liquid Robotics, found a new friend, a local dog from the village. After calling it a day from calibrating Wave Gliders compasses to ensure proper navigation and quality sensor data in high latitudes (72-75 degrees N), Dustin had a quiet moment with his new buddy. Beautiful summer view of the last icebergs floating by.