Journal

Where's The Slocum Glider?

The Slocum Glider.
The Slocum Glider! August 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.
We had just left the dock in Nome when we heard we would be attempting a rescue mission to find the Slocum Glider in a day or two! The glider was deployed by another ship in July and had been flying through the Chukchi Sea, collecting and sending data back to researchers on land via an ARGOS satellite. Suddenly on August 20th the glider stopped sending data! We would have only this one chance in the middle of the night to locate and capture it! If we were unable to recover the glider it would likely be lost forever!

Curious to see how things turned out? Then join us on the rescue mission! All you have to do is click on the video link below!

The Slocum Glider.
The Slocum Glider! August 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.

Through the Porthole: Arctic Artwork!

Arctic Artwork!
Arctic artwork by Springs School student Alfonso August 2017. Photo by Springs School PolarTREC educator Lisa Seff.
Arctic Artwork!
Arctic artwork by David G. August 2017. Photo by Springs School PolarTREC educator Lisa Seff.
Arctic artwork
Justin holding an Arctic artwork flag completed by students at the Anvil City Science Academy in Nome Alaska. August 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.
Arctic Artwork!
Arctic artwork by students at the Anvil City Science Academy in Nome Alaska! August 2017. Photo by Lisa Seff.

Translation
31 August 2017 Mision: ¡Rescatar in Instrumento Oceanográfico en el Mar de Chukchi!

¿Dónde está el planeador Solcum?

¡Acabamos de salir del muelle de Noma cuando escuchamos que atentaremos una misión de rescate dentro de uno o dos días para encontrar el planeador Solcum! El planeador había sido desplegado de otro barco en Julio y estaba volando sobre el Mar de Chukchi, recolectando y transmitiendo data a los investigadores en tierra mediante el satélite ARGOS. ¡De pronto el agosto 20 el planeador dejo de transmitir data! ¡Solo tendremos esta única oportunidad a media noche de localizarlo y capturarlo! ¡Si perdemos este equipo científico importante muy probable que quedara perdido por siempre!

¿Curioso de ver como salió todo? Entonces únete a nuestra misión! ¡Todo lo que tienes que hacer es clic en el link de video!

Details
Author
Lisa Seff
Date
Location
Beaufort Sea
Expedition
Upwelling and Ecology in the Beaufort Sea
Weather Summary
Cold, overcast, fog, snow/sleet
Temperature
34.2 degrees F
Wind Speed
24 Knots
Wind Chill
21 degrees F

View Comments

Comments

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 16:48

Nora C

How long were you searching for the glider before you found it? Was it pretty easy to spot or did it take a lot of effort to find the glider?

Fri, 09/01/2017 - 09:53

Judy Fahnestock

Wow! What a great experience to be part of and super impressive that everything went smoothly in the recovery effort. Dr. Stafford must have been ecstatic. (And btw-I'm putting in for you to teach "how to make a video" at the next PolarTREC orientation! ;)

Fri, 09/01/2017 - 10:51

Lisa Seff

Hi Judy, yes wasn't that an amazing recovery?  It was really thrilling to be on the bridge, helping to scan the dark sea for a speck of yellow.Then to actually find it, I was told we were only 20 miles from Russia, and get it on board undamaged was really amazing.  The Sikuliaq crew/captain + science team really came together to make it a successful mission!

And, thanks for your kind words with regards to the video. It was so much fun to make.  As I was filming just after it was safely brought onboard,  I called down to Dr. Stafford for a thumbs up, she couldn't contain herself and broke into that great big smile and hand waving photo you see at the end.  All around it was an awesome experience!  And hey, nice to know you might want me back after the plague I had going on in February.
(:
safe seas,
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/1/2017 9:53 AM
Subject: Re: Judy Fahnestock commented on 31 August 2017 Mission: Rescue An Oceanographic Instrument In The Chukchi Sea!

((( Re

Fri, 09/01/2017 - 12:01

George H.

Hi Lisa,
What an incredible video, Lisa. It was an amazing description on locating a lost glider...like finding a needle in the proverbial haystack. I was just curious, what kid of power source is the glider equipped with to be able to transmit data and how long do the sources typically last? Also, is the data collected by the satellite publicly available or is this accessed solely academic professionals? I would love to see an analysis of the data collected by the glider. Have fun on your expedition and stay safe!

George Hademenos

Fri, 09/01/2017 - 13:52

Lisa Seff

Oh hello George-it's so nice to hear from you! You and your students must be getting excited for your trip in November to Antarctica! So ye, locating and rescuing the glider was exciting and I'm glad you liked the video. To answer your questions:
1) The glider runs on Lithium batteries that allow it enough power to run for several months.  Here's a link to an AOOS journal article with 
additional information about the glider that you and your students might enjoy:http://www.aoos.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/AOOS_2015_Summer_Newslet…  It's from 2015 but still pertinent. 
2) I'm 99.9% sure that the data is accessible to the public, but let me check on the last 0.1% to make sure and then get back to you!
(:
thanks for joining us on the R/V Sikuliaq!
safe seas,
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/1/2017 12:01 PM
Subject: Re: George H. commented on 31 August 2017 Mission: Rescue An Oceanographic Instrument In The Chukchi Sea!

((( R

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 23:51

Lisa Seff

Hi Nora-it was a rough sea and a dark night...so it was tricky and all hands peering into the night! It had sent a signal predicting where it might be, which was super helpful, but it still was not easy and incredible that we found it and were able to get it onboard without damaging it. And we did this all only 20 miles off the coast of Russia, which is just amazing.(:
take care and see you on Monday!
Lisa

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 23:54

Lisa Seff

Hi Kimberly-They don't know at this point why it stopped sending data, but I'm sure they'll figure it out once they get it back to their lab. It weighs about 52kg and is 1.5meters long.(:
take care and see you on Monday!
Lisa

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 23:55

Lisa Seff

Hi Rosa-we found it close to 1am in the morning! And they'll be analyzing the data after they get it back to the lab. So we'll have to wait a bit to figure out what they've learned!Lisa

Wed, 09/20/2017 - 23:59

Lisa Seff

Hi Nichole! We don't know at this time why it stopped sending data. We'll have to wait until they get it back to the lab.(:
take care-Lisa

Fri, 09/15/2017 - 11:31

seth

the video link is missing

Fri, 09/15/2017 - 14:34

Lisa Seff

Hi Seth! Thank you so much for letting me know...oddly it was in the version you can't see, but not showing up in the journal.  I resubmitted it and I see it now.  Let me know if you can!(:
see you soon!
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/15/2017 11:31 AM
Subject: Re: seth commented on 31 August 2017 Mission: Rescue An Oceanographic Instrument In The Chukchi Sea!

((

Fri, 09/15/2017 - 14:34

Lisa Seff

Hi Seth! Thank you so much for letting me know...oddly it was in the version you can't see, but not showing up in the journal.  I resubmitted it and I see it now.  Let me know if you can!(:
see you so

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/15/2017 11:31 AM
Subject: Re: seth commented on 31 August 2017 Mission: Rescue An Oceanographic Instrument In The Chukchi Sea!

((

Sat, 09/16/2017 - 08:19

Sarah Morgan

Were you excited or scared when you figured out you were attempting a rescue mission to find the glider?

Sat, 09/16/2017 - 13:46

Lisa Seff

Hi Sarah! Yes, it was very exciting and a little nerve wracking, especially for the researcher who had deployed the glider a month earlier. It's an expensive piece of equipment and they would have lost some of the data (some data is sent directly to the satellite, but some is stored on the glider).(:
take care and safe seas!
Lisa

Sat, 09/16/2017 - 17:12

Nichole L

So glad you found the glider! How come the glider stopped sending data?

Mon, 09/18/2017 - 16:52

Corrina C

Wow! You were on a wild goose chase looking for that glider. I was wondering if the glider might have lost any data that it collected?

Mon, 09/18/2017 - 21:44

Lisa Seff

Hi Corrina-yes it was a bit of a wild goose chase, but at least it was communicating it's location a little bit so that helped.  We were only about 20 miles off of the Russian coast, and that's the direction it was headed, so we were fortunate to get it!  As far as the data, Kate Stafford will bring the components back to her lab, where they'll download the data....so we don't know yet. see you in a week!
Lisa

From: PolarTREC
To:
Sent: 9/18/2017 4:52 PM
Subject: Re: Corrina C commented on 31 August 2017 Mission: Rescue An Oceanographic Instrument In The Chukchi Sea!

(((

Tue, 09/19/2017 - 17:21

Rosa P.

Did you learn anything new thanks to the Slocum Glider? Around what time did you find the glider?

Tue, 09/19/2017 - 20:08

kimberly B.

Why do you think the Slocum Glider stop sending data? and how big was the Glider/ how much did it weight it seems like a lot?