UAF Glider Program

Through a partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), AOOS supports a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles known as gliders. Oceanographers at UAF’s College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences remotely pilot these underwater robots, deploying them for months at a time on missions across Alaska’s waters. As they travel through the ocean, the gliders collect and transmit data to the AOOS Data Portal in near real-time.

Gliders have significantly enhanced our ability to continuously monitor oceanographic conditions. In the Gulf of Alaska, for example, these autonomous drones “swim” from Seward to the Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Observatory. Once there, they undulate from the surface to the seafloor and back every hour, collecting data on seawater density, temperature, salinity, phytoplankton, and light levels.
Recent advancements in glider technology include the addition of compact fisheries echosounders and camera systems, allowing researchers to detect, identify, and quantify fish and zooplankton. These data contribute to ecosystem assessments and fishery management, help detect marine heatwaves, and monitor the strength of algal blooms. Acoustic transmitters attached to gliders track the movement of red king crabs and snow crabs, providing crucial oceanographic context alongside animal tracking data.