The Alena K finally joined us from Cordova on Wednesday to help with drifter deployment/retrieval and ctd transects. The Alena K is a platform for launching the two AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) that are part of the Experiment. These photos are of the glider, a special type of AUV which moves up and down in the water column by changing buoyancy. Wings allow steerable gliding, thus horizontal propulsion. The vehicle glides without an engine, taking oceanographic measurement , and, at the surface, fixes its position via GPS and communicate via satellite. Every morning the crew of the Alena K sends these AUVs out on their mission and then picks them up at a pre-determined spot in the evening.
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