The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) Physical Oceanography Division and the Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CARICOOS) deployed two underwater gliders in the Caribbean Sea and one in the Atlantic Ocean. These autonomous underwater vehicles will dive to depths of up to 1,000 meters and travel hundreds of kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea to study the air-sea dynamics during tropical storms.

Along the way, integrated sensors will measure depth, pressure, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll concentration and chromophoric dissolved organic matter to assess the impact of tropical storm conditions on upper ocean thermal structure and improve weather system forecasts. Near real-time data will be transmitted through satellites when the underwater gliders pop to the surface. They will subsequently dive again and repeat the routine until the end of hurricane season.

To view near-real-time location of the gliders and the latest temperature and salinity observations, visit AOML and CARICOOS websites.