Assessing the potential of autonomous submarine gliders for ecosystem monitoring across multiple trophic levels (plankton to cetaceans) and pollutants in shallow shelf seas

L. Suberg; R.B. Wynn; J.V.D. Kooij; L. Fernand; S. Fielding; D. Guihen; D. Gillespie; M. Johnson; K.C. Gkikopoulou; I.J. Allan; B. Vrana; P.I. Miller; D. Smeed; A.R. Jones

doi:10.1016/j.mio.2014.06.002

Assessing the potential of autonomous submarine gliders for ecosystem monitoring across multiple trophic levels (plankton to cetaceans) and pollutants in shallow shelf seas

L. Suberg, R.B. Wynn, J.V.D. Kooij, L. Fernand, S. Fielding, D. Guihen, D. Gillespie, M. Johnson, K.C. Gkikopoulou, I.J. Allan, B. Vrana, P.I. Miller, D. Smeed, A.R. Jones

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

A combination of scientific, economic, technological and policy drivers is behind a recent upsurge in the use of marine autonomous systems (and accompanying miniaturized sensors) for environmental mapping and monitoring. Increased spatial-temporal resolution and coverage of data, at reduced cost, is particularly vital for effective spatial management of highly dynamic and heterogeneous shelf environments. This proof-of-concept study involves integration of a novel combination of sensors onto buoyancy-driven submarine gliders, in order to assess their suitability for ecosystem monitoring in shelf waters at a variety of trophic levels. Two shallow-water Slocum gliders were equipped with CTD and fluorometer to measure physical properties and chlorophyll, respectively. One glider was also equipped with a single-frequency echosounder to collect information on zooplankton and fish distribution. The other glider carried a Passive Acoustic Monitoring system to detect and record cetacean vocalizations, and a passive sampler to detect chemical contaminants in the water column. The two gliders were deployed together off southwest UK in autumn 2013, and targeted a known tidal-mixing front west of the Isles of Scilly. The gliders' mission took about 40 days, with each glider travelling distances of >1000km and undertaking >2500 dives to depths of up to 100m. Controlling glider flight and alignment of the two glider trajectories proved to be particularly challenging due to strong tidal flows. However, the gliders continued to collect data in poor weather when an accompanying research vessel was unable to operate. In addition, all glider sensors generated useful data, with particularly interesting initial results relating to subsurface chlorophyll maxima and numerous fish/cetacean detections within the water column. The broader implications of this study for marine ecosystem monitoring with submarine gliders are discussed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	70-89
Number of pages	20
Journal	Methods in Oceanography
Volume	10
Early online date	22 Jul 2014
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mio.2014.06.002
Publication status	Published - Sept 2014

Keywords

Autonomous underwater vehicles
Submarine glider
Slocum
Ecosystem monitoring
Multiple trophic levels

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.mio.2014.06.002

suberg2015methodsoceanography70
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
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DEFRA: Novel application of autonomous platforms for cost-effective marine monitoring of mammals and seabirds in UK waters: towards an integrated marine monitoring network
Gillespie, D. M. (PI) & Johnson, M. (CoI)
Dept for Environment Food and Rural Aff
15/09/13 → 30/09/14
Project: Standard
Monitoring Marine Mammals: Monitoring Marine Mammals from Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
Tyack, P. L. (PI), Gillespie, D. M. (CoI), Hammond, P. S. (CoI) & Johnson, M. (CoI)
NERC
1/04/12 → 1/10/16
Project: Standard
Marie Curie CIG Animal Sound Sensors: Marie Curie CIG Animal Sound Sensors
Johnson, M. (PI) & Boyd, I. (CoI)
European Commission
1/03/12 → 28/02/16
Project: Standard

Cite this

Suberg, L., Wynn, R. B., Kooij, J. V. D., Fernand, L., Fielding, S., Guihen, D., Gillespie, D., Johnson, M., Gkikopoulou, K. C., Allan, I. J., Vrana, B., Miller, P. I., Smeed, D., & Jones, A. R. (2014). Assessing the potential of autonomous submarine gliders for ecosystem monitoring across multiple trophic levels (plankton to cetaceans) and pollutants in shallow shelf seas. Methods in Oceanography, 10, 70-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mio.2014.06.002

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title = "Assessing the potential of autonomous submarine gliders for ecosystem monitoring across multiple trophic levels (plankton to cetaceans) and pollutants in shallow shelf seas",

abstract = "A combination of scientific, economic, technological and policy drivers is behind a recent upsurge in the use of marine autonomous systems (and accompanying miniaturized sensors) for environmental mapping and monitoring. Increased spatial-temporal resolution and coverage of data, at reduced cost, is particularly vital for effective spatial management of highly dynamic and heterogeneous shelf environments. This proof-of-concept study involves integration of a novel combination of sensors onto buoyancy-driven submarine gliders, in order to assess their suitability for ecosystem monitoring in shelf waters at a variety of trophic levels. Two shallow-water Slocum gliders were equipped with CTD and fluorometer to measure physical properties and chlorophyll, respectively. One glider was also equipped with a single-frequency echosounder to collect information on zooplankton and fish distribution. The other glider carried a Passive Acoustic Monitoring system to detect and record cetacean vocalizations, and a passive sampler to detect chemical contaminants in the water column. The two gliders were deployed together off southwest UK in autumn 2013, and targeted a known tidal-mixing front west of the Isles of Scilly. The gliders' mission took about 40 days, with each glider travelling distances of >1000km and undertaking >2500 dives to depths of up to 100m. Controlling glider flight and alignment of the two glider trajectories proved to be particularly challenging due to strong tidal flows. However, the gliders continued to collect data in poor weather when an accompanying research vessel was unable to operate. In addition, all glider sensors generated useful data, with particularly interesting initial results relating to subsurface chlorophyll maxima and numerous fish/cetacean detections within the water column. The broader implications of this study for marine ecosystem monitoring with submarine gliders are discussed.",

keywords = "Autonomous underwater vehicles, Submarine glider, Slocum, Ecosystem monitoring, Multiple trophic levels",

author = "L. Suberg and R.B. Wynn and J.V.D. Kooij and L. Fernand and S. Fielding and D. Guihen and D. Gillespie and M. Johnson and K.C. Gkikopoulou and I.J. Allan and B. Vrana and P.I. Miller and D. Smeed and A.R. Jones",

note = "The Gliders and AUVs for Marine Observation and Research (GLAMOR) project was primarily funded by UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), through their Strategic Evidence and Partnerships Fund. Damien Guihen was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant NE/H014756/1. Additional financial support came through Defra project MF1112 (POSEIDON). Ian Allan (NIVA) and Branislav Vrana (RECETOX) acknowledge funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no. 262584, JERICO (TNA project GLISS). ",

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doi = "10.1016/j.mio.2014.06.002",

language = "English",

volume = "10",

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Suberg, L, Wynn, RB, Kooij, JVD, Fernand, L, Fielding, S, Guihen, D, Gillespie, D, Johnson, M, Gkikopoulou, KC, Allan, IJ, Vrana, B, Miller, PI, Smeed, D & Jones, AR 2014, 'Assessing the potential of autonomous submarine gliders for ecosystem monitoring across multiple trophic levels (plankton to cetaceans) and pollutants in shallow shelf seas', Methods in Oceanography, vol. 10, pp. 70-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mio.2014.06.002

TY - JOUR

T1 - Assessing the potential of autonomous submarine gliders for ecosystem monitoring across multiple trophic levels (plankton to cetaceans) and pollutants in shallow shelf seas

AU - Suberg, L.

AU - Wynn, R.B.

AU - Kooij, J.V.D.

AU - Fernand, L.

AU - Fielding, S.

AU - Guihen, D.

AU - Gillespie, D.

AU - Johnson, M.

AU - Gkikopoulou, K.C.

AU - Allan, I.J.

AU - Vrana, B.

AU - Miller, P.I.

AU - Smeed, D.

AU - Jones, A.R.

N1 - The Gliders and AUVs for Marine Observation and Research (GLAMOR) project was primarily funded by UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), through their Strategic Evidence and Partnerships Fund. Damien Guihen was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant NE/H014756/1. Additional financial support came through Defra project MF1112 (POSEIDON). Ian Allan (NIVA) and Branislav Vrana (RECETOX) acknowledge funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no. 262584, JERICO (TNA project GLISS).

PY - 2014/9

Y1 - 2014/9

N2 - A combination of scientific, economic, technological and policy drivers is behind a recent upsurge in the use of marine autonomous systems (and accompanying miniaturized sensors) for environmental mapping and monitoring. Increased spatial-temporal resolution and coverage of data, at reduced cost, is particularly vital for effective spatial management of highly dynamic and heterogeneous shelf environments. This proof-of-concept study involves integration of a novel combination of sensors onto buoyancy-driven submarine gliders, in order to assess their suitability for ecosystem monitoring in shelf waters at a variety of trophic levels. Two shallow-water Slocum gliders were equipped with CTD and fluorometer to measure physical properties and chlorophyll, respectively. One glider was also equipped with a single-frequency echosounder to collect information on zooplankton and fish distribution. The other glider carried a Passive Acoustic Monitoring system to detect and record cetacean vocalizations, and a passive sampler to detect chemical contaminants in the water column. The two gliders were deployed together off southwest UK in autumn 2013, and targeted a known tidal-mixing front west of the Isles of Scilly. The gliders' mission took about 40 days, with each glider travelling distances of >1000km and undertaking >2500 dives to depths of up to 100m. Controlling glider flight and alignment of the two glider trajectories proved to be particularly challenging due to strong tidal flows. However, the gliders continued to collect data in poor weather when an accompanying research vessel was unable to operate. In addition, all glider sensors generated useful data, with particularly interesting initial results relating to subsurface chlorophyll maxima and numerous fish/cetacean detections within the water column. The broader implications of this study for marine ecosystem monitoring with submarine gliders are discussed.

AB - A combination of scientific, economic, technological and policy drivers is behind a recent upsurge in the use of marine autonomous systems (and accompanying miniaturized sensors) for environmental mapping and monitoring. Increased spatial-temporal resolution and coverage of data, at reduced cost, is particularly vital for effective spatial management of highly dynamic and heterogeneous shelf environments. This proof-of-concept study involves integration of a novel combination of sensors onto buoyancy-driven submarine gliders, in order to assess their suitability for ecosystem monitoring in shelf waters at a variety of trophic levels. Two shallow-water Slocum gliders were equipped with CTD and fluorometer to measure physical properties and chlorophyll, respectively. One glider was also equipped with a single-frequency echosounder to collect information on zooplankton and fish distribution. The other glider carried a Passive Acoustic Monitoring system to detect and record cetacean vocalizations, and a passive sampler to detect chemical contaminants in the water column. The two gliders were deployed together off southwest UK in autumn 2013, and targeted a known tidal-mixing front west of the Isles of Scilly. The gliders' mission took about 40 days, with each glider travelling distances of >1000km and undertaking >2500 dives to depths of up to 100m. Controlling glider flight and alignment of the two glider trajectories proved to be particularly challenging due to strong tidal flows. However, the gliders continued to collect data in poor weather when an accompanying research vessel was unable to operate. In addition, all glider sensors generated useful data, with particularly interesting initial results relating to subsurface chlorophyll maxima and numerous fish/cetacean detections within the water column. The broader implications of this study for marine ecosystem monitoring with submarine gliders are discussed.

KW - Autonomous underwater vehicles

KW - Submarine glider

KW - Slocum

KW - Ecosystem monitoring

KW - Multiple trophic levels

U2 - 10.1016/j.mio.2014.06.002

DO - 10.1016/j.mio.2014.06.002

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84912029317

SN - 2211-1220

VL - 10

SP - 70

EP - 89

JO - Methods in Oceanography

JF - Methods in Oceanography

ER -

Assessing the potential of autonomous submarine gliders for ecosystem monitoring across multiple trophic levels (plankton to cetaceans) and pollutants in shallow shelf seas

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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Projects

DEFRA: Novel application of autonomous platforms for cost-effective marine monitoring of mammals and seabirds in UK waters: towards an integrated marine monitoring network

Monitoring Marine Mammals: Monitoring Marine Mammals from Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Marie Curie CIG Animal Sound Sensors: Marie Curie CIG Animal Sound Sensors

Cite this