. 24/7 Space News .
WATER WORLD
Ocean Glider tells quite a tale after 74 days at sea
by Staff Writers
Canberra, Australia (SPX) Jul 21, 2016


illustration only

The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) ocean glider made 344 dives, surfacing regularly to transmit data by satellite back to land where oceanographers have been analysing the data. The glider, which traversed over 1,800 km in the eastern Great Australian Bight, collected data on temperature, salinity and other variables from the ocean surface to a depth of 1,000 m.

On at least one dive the glider was attacked by a shark. Bite marks and a damaged oxygen sensor provide evidence the yellow metal object was mistaken for food and preyed upon.

The mission was part of the Great Australian Bight Research Program, a collaboration between BP, CSIRO, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the University of Adelaide and Flinders University. This four-year, $20 million research program aims to provide a whole-of-system understanding of the environmental, economic and social values of the Great Australian Bight; providing an information source for all to use.

"This was the third and final mission of the ocean gliders into the Great Australian Bight for the research program to reveal the secrets from the deep regarding this dynamic and amazingly productive body of water," said Dr Steve Lapidge, the program's Research Director.

"Judging by the tooth marks on the glider, it appears that one of the locals wants to protect its secrets," he said.

The three glider missions into the Great Australian Bight have helped identify the major current systems, including an eastward flowing South Australian current and the westward flowing Flinders Current, which can be distinguish based on depth integrated currents and temperature/salinity signature.

Dr David Griffin of IMOS OceanCurrent has been developing maps to track the glider's mission. He has produced an animation which shows the journey of the glider and the measurements taken during its 70+ days at sea.

A separate glider mission on the Bonnie coast has revealed very strong upwelling of cold water along the coast this summer. Combined, the results of the geographically separated glider missions have provided valuable information about the origin of cold water which results in the high productivity of the Great Australian Bight that underpins South Australia's important fishing industry.

Tim Moltmann, Director of IMOS, is pleased to see that insights such as these have resulted from the deployment of its gliders.

"The Great Australian Bight Research Program is a great example of an industry-government collaboration using the IMOS national infrastructure to increase our knowledge of marine systems and ultimately benefit the Australian people," said Mr Moltmann.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Great Australian Bight Research Program
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
WATER WORLD
Dutch inventor harnessing waves to clean up the seas
Scheveningen, Netherlands (AFP) June 22, 2016
The Dutch inventor behind a ground-breaking project to remove millions of tonnes of plastics floating in vast ocean "garbage patches" unveiled Wednesday the first prototype of his ambitious sea-cleaning device. Boyan Slat's innovative idea - first drawn on a paper napkin when he was still in high school - seeks to use ocean currents to gather up the masses of bottles, plastic bags, flip-fl ... read more


WATER WORLD
Russia to spend $60M in 2016-2018 to fund space voyages to Moon, Mars

Russian Moon Base to Hold Up to 12 People

US may approve private venture moon mission: report

Fifty Years of Moon Dust

WATER WORLD
Mars Canyons Study Adds Clues about Possible Water

Curiosity Mars Rover Enters Precautionary Safe Mode

Frosty Cold Nights Year-Round on Mars May Stir Dust

Mars Canyons Study Adds Clues about Possible Water

WATER WORLD
Disney theme park in Shanghai nears a million visitors

Sensor Technology Could Revolutionize What You Sleep On

Return to light for underground astronauts

Mathematical framework prioritizes key patterns to accelerate scientific discovery

WATER WORLD
Dutch Radio Antenna to Depart for Moon on Chinese Mission

Chinese Space Garbageman is not a Weapon

China to launch its largest carrier rocket later this year

China committed to peaceful use of outer space

WATER WORLD
New Crew Members, Including NASA Biologist, Launch to Space Station

Russian New Soyuz-MS Spacecraft Docks With ISS for First Time

NASA Highlights Space Station Research Benefits, Opportunities at San Diego Conference

Three astronauts blast off for ISS in upgraded Soyuz craft

WATER WORLD
SpaceX to launch key 'parking spot' to space station

Russia to Continue Rocket Engine Supplies to US Under Existing Contracts

India launches 20 satellites in single mission

LSU Chemistry Experiment Aboard Historic Suborbital Space Flight

WATER WORLD
Lush Venus? Searing Earth? It could have happened

Graduate researchers lead exoplanet discoveries

Teenagers at Keele University Discover Possible New Exoplanet

A surprising planet with three suns

WATER WORLD
'Green' electronic materials produced with synthetic biology

Exploring superconducting properties of 3-D printed parts

Learning from the mussel, scientists create a biologically active titanium surface

World's smallest hard disk stores data atom by atom









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.