Simultaneous assessment of oxygen- and nitrate-based net community production in a temperate shelf sea from a single ocean glider

The continental shelf seas are important at a global scale for ecosystem services. These highly dynamic regions are under a wide range of stresses, and as such future management requires appropriate monitoring measures. A key metric to understanding and predicting future change are the rates of biological production. We present here the use of an autonomous underwater glider with an oxygen (O2) and a wet-chemical microfluidic total oxidised nitrogen (NOx-=NO3-+NO2-) sensor during a spring bloom as part of a 2019 pilot autonomous shelf sea monitoring study. We find exceptionally high rates of net community production using both O2 and NOx- water column inventory changes, corrected for air–sea gas exchange in case of O2. We compare these rates with 2007 and 2008 mooring observations finding similar rates of NOx- consumption. With these complementary methods we determine the O2:N amount ratio of the newly produced organic matter (7.8 ± 0.4) and the overall O2:N ratio for the total water column (5.7 ± 0.4). The former is close to the canonical Redfield O2:N ratio of 8.6 ± 1.0, whereas the latter may be explained by a combination of new organic matter production and preferential remineralisation of more reduced organic matter at a higher O2:N ratio below the euphotic zone.

Simultaneous assessment of oxygen and nitrate-based net community production in a temperate shelf sea from a single ocean glider

The continental shelf seas are important at a global scale for ecosystem services. These highly dynamic regions are under a wide range of stresses and as such future management requires appropriate monitoring measures. A key metric to understanding and predicting future change are the rates of biological productivity. We present here the use of a single autonomous underwater glider with oxygen (O2) and total oxidised nitrogen (NOx− = NO3− + NO2−) sensors during a spring bloom as part of a 2019 pilot autonomous shelf sea monitoring study. We find exceptionally high rates of net community production using both O2 and NOx− water column inventory changes, corrected for air-sea gas exchange in case of O2. We compare these rates with 2007 and 2008 mooring observations finding similar rates of NOx− consumption. With these complementary methods we determine the O:N amount ratio of the newly produced organic matter (7.8±0.4) and the overall O2:N ratio for the total water column (5.7±0.4). The former is close to the canonical Redfield O2:N ratio of 8.6±1.0, whereas the latter may be explained by a combination of new organic matter production and preferential remineralisation of more reduced organic matter at a higher O2:N ratio below the euphotic zone.

Sediment resuspension and transport from a glider integrated Laser In Situ Scattering and Transmissometry (LISST) particle analyzer

Suspended particle size and concentration are critical parameters necessary to understand water quality, sediment dynamics, carbon flux, and ecosystem dynamics among other ocean processes. In this study we detail the integration of a Sequoia Scientific, Inc., Laser In situ Scattering and Transmissometry (LISST) sensor into a Teledyne Webb Research Slocum autonomous underwater glider. These sensors are capable of measuring particle size, concentration, and beam attenuation by particles in size ranges from 1.00 to 500 μm at a resolution of 1 Hz. The combination of these two technologies provides the unique opportunity to measure particle characteristics persistently at specific locations, or survey regional domains from a single profiling sensor. In this study we present the sensor integration framework, detail quality assurance and control (QAQC) procedures, as well as provide a case study of storm driven sediment resuspension and transport. Specifically, Rutgers glider RU28 was deployed with an integrated LISST-Glider for 18 days in September of 2017. During this time period it sampled the nearshore environment off of coastal New Jersey, capturing full water column sediment resuspension during a coastal storm event. A novel method for in situ background corrections is demonstrated and used to mitigate long-term bio-fouling of the sensor windows. Additionally, we present a method for removing Schlieren contaminated time periods utilizing coincident conductivity temperature and depth, fluorometer, and optical backscatter data. The combination of LISST sensors and autonomous platforms has the potential to revolutionize our ability to capture suspended particle characteristics throughout the world’s oceans.

Energy-Efficient Data Collection Using Autonomous Underwater Glider: A Reinforcement Learning Formulation

The autonomous underwater glider has attracted enormous interest for underwater activities, especially in long-term and large-scale underwater data collection. In this paper, we focus on the application of gliders gathering data from underwater sensor networks over underwater acoustic channels. However, this application suffers from a rapidly time-varying environment and limited energy. To optimize the performance of data collection and maximize the network lifetime, we propose a distributed, energy-efficient sensor scheduling algorithm based on the multi-armed bandit formulation. Besides, we design an indexable threshold policy to tradeoff between the data quality and the collection delay. Moreover, to reduce the computational complexity, we divide the proposed algorithm into off-line computation and on-line scheduling parts. Simulation results indicate that the proposed policy significantly improves the performance of the data collection and reduces the energy consumption. They prove the effectiveness of the threshold, which could reduce the collection delay by at least 10% while guaranteeing the data quality.

Hydrodynamic Performance of Autonomous Underwater Gliders with Active Twin Undulatory Wings of Different Aspect Ratios

The propulsive performance of a bio-inspired autonomous underwater glider (AUG) with active twin undulatory wings undergoing undulatory motion was investigated by numerically solving the viscous incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, coupled with the immersed boundary method. The aspect ratio (AR) effects of the undulatory wings were studied. The simulation results showed that with the increase of AR, the thrust force generated by the active twin undulatory wings showed a linear growth, while the propulsion efficiency of the AUG increased to the peak and then decreased. The optimum magnitude of AR around 2 was obtained in the current study. The vortex structures in the wake of the active twin wings are also presented and discussed. The conclusions acquired here could provide guidance for the new conceptual design of bio-inspired AUGs.