UConn has two shallow water (200 m) Slocum Electric Gliders, each equipped with a Seabird Electronics Glider Payload CTD (conductivity, temperature and pressure) , an Anderra Model 3835 Oxygen Optode (dissolved oxygen) and a custom acoustic modem package utilizing a Teledyne Benthos Model ATM-885 low-frequency (9-14 kHz) modem. In addition, one glider is also carrying a Wet-Labs ECO Triplet Puck capable of measuring backscatter at two frequencies (530 nm and 650 nm) and fluorescence for chlorophyll.
The gliders main purpose will be to provide sustained spatial surveys, on the order of 1-2 months, to augment the long term time series data from UConn’s network of coastal observatory buoys (lisicos.uconn.edu, mysound.uconn.edu). Integrating these two types of data sets, we hope to monitor the evolution of the long term response of Long Island Sound to climate change. The gliders will also be used in outreach programs (i.e., COSSEE-TEK) and to foster collaborative research not only interdepartmentally at UConn but with other universities as well.