Seaglider has landed: SAMS succeeds in first ever deep water deployment

This is a world first you can’t write a headline for. There are so many choices. The first ever deep-water deployment in UK waters of a marine glider came to a successful end on Wednesday, 10th March. Captain Sean Rathbone (left in picture) of the Northern Lighthouse Board vessel, Pole Star, returned the striking pink instrument to the Scottish Association of Marine Sciences’s (SAMS) physical oceanographer, Professor Toby Sherwin.

It had spent five months of constant data gathering since its deployment off Tiree in October 2009.

The unmanned underwater vehicle has been continuously collecting data on ocean water temperature, salinity and oxygen concentrations by repeating a deep transect between the Scottish Shelf and Rockall known to oceanographers as the Ellett Line.

Professor Sherwin explains the significance of this technology: ‘The Seaglider is the future face of oceanography. It is an immensely capable technology that provides us with information about the conditions of the top 1000m of the sea over a large area via a 6 hourly satellite transfer of data.

‘This is important for us to understand changes in ocean currents and conditions – which relate, for example, to our weather and climate.

‘The five months deployment has yielded the same quantity of oceanographic data as about 25 research cruises – very cheaply. This is the way ahead for a much clearer understanding of the oceanography of our oceans.’

The Seaglider navigates through the ocean by changing its buoyancy and shifting its internal mass to dive to depths of up to 1000m. Its design and hydrodynamic shape minimise power consumption.  Although the glider travels at only 0.5 knots (0.5 mph) it is capable of running continuously for many months whilst travelling several thousands of kilometres.

The scientists had planned to navigate her close to Tiree and pick her up using a hard-bottom RIB in two weeks time, but then received a ‘Help me’ message on Monday from the Seaglider – a marine equivalent of ‘Houston, we have a problem’.

It had hit some difficulty with its propulsion system – far from land. By a very lucky coincidence, the Pole Star was in the area and volunteered to retrieve the instrument.  The glider has hardly a mark on her – or any fouling – after a long journey that included a number of North Atlantic winter storms.

‘I am immensely grateful to the Northern Lighthouse Board for helping us retrieve the Seaglider so promptly and for their care and interest in the instrument’, said Professor Sherwin.

And they called it ‘Talisker’. And it’s such a girly pink.

Here is more information about SAMS Seaglider’s first mission.