Alif Reyhan Effendy - PTE A

Underwater Robots Explore the Ocean
The robotic underwater glider Scarlet Knight crossed the Atlantic over the course of several
months in 2009. (Map and Photo provided by Rutgers University)
by Smithsonian Ocean Team

Glider Technology Now Used to Study Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico
The first underwater robotic vehicle—or “glider”—to cross an ocean is the

centerpiece of a new temporary exhibit at the Smithsonian National
Museum of Natural History. The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System,
through Rutgers University, carried out the trans-Atlantic journey in 2009,
just months before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
became the first U.S. oil spill where glider technology was applied.
The Scarlet Knight (also known as RU27) is an 8-

foot autonomousunderwater glider that traveled from New Jersey to
Spain, tracing the 517-year-old path of Columbus’s ship, the Pinta. Its
underwater expedition, spearheaded by undergraduate students from
Rutgers University, has provided data to help scientists better understand
how climate change is affecting the ocean.
“We are very pleased to showcase this milestone in ocean research and
exploration here in the Sant Ocean Hall,” said Eva Pell, Smithsonian’s
Under Secretary for Science. “The story of the glider and the
undergraduate students who monitored its journey shines light on the
mysteries of the oceans; it speaks to the importance of technological
creativity to mine those secrets, and to education as a vehicle to achieve
the goal of understanding the greatest resource of our planet."
Glider Crosses the Atlantic
The glider, with no engine to propel it forward, rode the ocean currents and
made a series of 10,000 dives and ascents in order to collect data on
ocean circulation, the heat content of the upper layer of the ocean, and the
transport of this heat through oceanic circulation as it crossed the Atlantic.
Descents involved pumping a small volume of water into its nose causing it
to sink and unequal buoyancy along the fuselage would send the glider 150
to 180 meters down the water column. Ascending involved the reverse:
pumping approximately a cup of water into the tail causing a glide upwards.
This pattern of dive-and-ascend cycles continued for 4,600 miles; they
lasted approximately 40 minutes each. The glider stayed almost continually
underwater, surfacing only three times a day to check its location, transmit
data, and download new piloting instructions from home via an Iridium
telephone on its tail.
Fishing nets and wildlife posed dangers, but through continued

collaboration with fishermen during the glider’s first hazardous week,
the Scarlet Knight achieved all mission objectives.
The glider was dubbed Scarlet Knightin honor of the Rutger’s mascot. The
Rutgers team and their Spanish colleagues from Puertos Del Estado (the
Spanish Port Authority) recovered the glider off the Spanish coast after
seven months at sea, and brought it ashore in the small town of Baiona
where Christopher Columbus’s ship, the Pinta, landed with news of the
New World more than 500 years ago. The glider reached Baiona on Dec. 9,
2009—one year to the day of the exhibit being launched within the
Smithsonian’s Sant Ocean Hall.
Fleet of Gliders Sent to Gulf of Mexico
“Gliders sample the ocean in places it is impractical to send people and at

a fraction of the price,” said Zdenka Willis, director of the U.S. IOOS
Program. “Using robots to collect scientific data is the wave of the future in
terms of ocean observing.”
As part of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response effort, IOOS partners
deployed a fleet of gliders equipped with sensors to help indicate the
presence of oil. Though scientists must still confirm oil presence through
water sampling, gliders narrowed the search zone for subsurface oil.
“New technologies give us greater insight into how the ocean works. The
trans-Atlantic glider, in particular, helped reduce uncertainty in some of our
climate models,” said Richard L. McCormick Rutgers University president.
“We are thrilled to work with IOOS to enhance this understanding at such a
critical time for our planet.”
IOOS is a federal, regional and private-sector partnership working to

enhance the ability to collect, deliver, and use ocean information. IOOS
delivers the data and information needed to increase understanding of
oceans and coasts, so that decision-makers can act to improve safety,
enhance the economy, and protect the environment. NOAA’s mission is to
understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the
depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage
the nation’s coastal and marine resources

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Underwater Robots Explore the Ocean

by Smithsonian Ocean Team

The first underwater robotic vehicle—or “glider”—to cross an ocean is the

The Scarlet Knight (also known as RU27) is an 8-

Glider Crosses the Atlantic

Fishing nets and wildlife posed dangers, but through continued

Fleet of Gliders Sent to Gulf of Mexico

“Gliders sample the ocean in places it is impractical to send people and at

IOOS is a federal, regional and private-sector partnership working to

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