Buoyancy Glider Observations of Current Velocities in the Northwestern
Mediterranean Sea During April 2018
Abstract
Geophysical observations collected by The University of Texas at San
Antonio’s (UTSA) SeaExplorer, an autonomous, buoyancy-driven, underwater
glider equipped with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) sensor
are described. This dataset was collected in the northwestern
Mediterranean Sea off the coast of France in April 2018 during the
glider production phase by manufacturer Alseamar to ensure proper
functioning of all sensors and equipment. The complete, raw dataset is
being used by UTSA to aid in the development of in-house processing code
to compute water-column current velocity profiles. The SeaExplorer
glider, SEA039, is the first ocean glider acquired by UTSA’s Department
of Geological Sciences as it expands departmental research into ocean
sciences by incorporating new observational technologies and data
science. The SeaExplorer glider collects high-resolution vertical
profiles of physical and biochemical observations including ADCP current
velocities in the water column from the surface to 700 meters depth. The
data is processed and visualized primarily using MathWorks® MATLAB and
described in conjunction with other regionally-relevant environmental
datasets.