MOOMZ Glider Launch Video
In this post we share a short video documenting how we launched the gliders in Chile.
Before we get to the video, though, I’d like to extol one of the [major] benefits of using gliders as a tool in Oceanography: they are easy to launch and recover from small vessels. “Traditional” oceanography takes place on large research ships (well over 100 feet long), which is problematic in terms of the costs involved (very expensive) and their limited availability. Launching or retrieving a glider from a small boat is simple and inexpensive, and if we need to get out on the water for an unplanned emergency rescue, small boats are relatively easy to come by. Case in point: this was our small-yet-capable Chilean launch vessel, which belongs to the Universidad de Arturo Prat (UNAP):
R/V Antares
We launched two gliders and recovered one from this nimble little vessel. While the rest of the research team was stranded on land after our larger research vessel blew an engine, the OSU Glider Research Group was still able to get out there and save the day with gliders (fist bump!).
Okay, on with the video:
Thanks to Laura for sharing her photos and video from the trip!
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Does using a smaller boat make it harder to do some of your tests? How do you manage all of your equipment on a smaller boat?
Hi Lauren,
Actually, launching the gliders from a small boat is generally easier than using the larger vessels. With the smaller boats, we just lift them over the side by hand, as you saw in the video. With larger boats, we have to use hydraulic cranes to lift the glider off of the ship and into the water, which is more complicated and has more potential for damage to the glider. Launching a Seaglider only requires a laptop, an acoustic deck box to make sure that the glider is pinging, and a satellite phone if we are out of cell phone range. It all fits quite nicely on any size vessel.