Oceanography The Official Magazine of
The Oceanography Society
Volume 30 Issue 02

View Issue TOC
Volume 30, No. 2
Pages 104 - 109

OpenAccess

Sustained Measurements of Southern Ocean Air-Sea Coupling from a Wave Glider Autonomous Surface Vehicle

By Jim Thomson  and James Girton  
Jump to
Article Abstract Citation References Copyright & Usage
Article Abstract

The four-month mission of a Wave Glider in the Southern Ocean has demonstrated the capability for an autonomous surface vehicle to make sustained measurements of air-sea interactions in remote regions. Several new sensor payloads were integrated for this mission, including a three-axis sonic anemometer for turbulent wind stress estimation and a high-resolution atmospheric pressure gage. The mission focused on Drake Passage, where strong gradients are common along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) fronts. Using satellite data products, pilots ashore were able to remotely navigate the Wave Glider across the ACC Polar Front and measure changes in air-sea coupling. The resulting data set combines the persistence of a mooring with the adaptability of a ship-based survey.

Citation

Thomson, J., and J. Girton. 2017. Sustained measurements of Southern Ocean air-sea coupling from a Wave Glider autonomous surface vehicle. Oceanography 30(2):104–109, https://doi.org/​10.5670/oceanog.2017.228.

References

Boning, C.W., A. Dispert, M. Visbeck, S. Rintoul, and F.U. Schwarzkopf. 2008. The response of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to recent climate change. Nature Geoscience 1:864–869, https://doi.org/​10.1038/ngeo362.

Bourassa, M.A., S.T. Gille, C. Bitz, D. Carlson, I. Cerovecki, C.A. Clayson, M.F. Cronin, W.M. Drennan, C.W. Fairall, R.N. Hoffman, and others. 2013. High-latitude ocean and sea ice surface fluxes: Challenges for climate research. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 94:403–423, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00244.1.

Farrar, J.T., L. Rainville, A.J. Plueddemann, W.S. Kessler, C. Lee, B.A. Hodges, R.W. Schmitt, J.B. Edson, S.C. Riser, C.C. Eriksen, and D.M. Fratantoni. 2015. Salinity and temperature balances at the SPURS central mooring during fall and winter. Oceanography 28(1):56–65, https://doi.org/​10.5670/oceanog.2015.06.

Fitzpatrick, P.J., Y. Lee, R. Moorhead, A. Skarke, D. Merritt, K. Kreider, C. Brown, R. Carlon, G. Hine. T. Lampoudi, and A.P. Leonardi. 2015. A review of the 2014 Gulf of Mexico Wave Glider field program. Marine Technology Society Journal 49:64–71, https://doi.org/10.4031/MTSJ.49.3.14.

Foreman, R., and S. Emeis. 2012. Correlation equation for the marine drag coefficient and wave steepness. Ocean Dynamics 62:1,323–1,333, https://doi.org/​10.1007/s10236-012-0565-1.

Garcia-Nava, H., F.J. Ocampo-Torres, P.A. Hwang, and P. Osuna. 2012. Reduction of wind stress due to swell at high wind conditions. Journal of Geophysical Research 117, C00J11, https://doi.org/​10.1029/2011JC007833.

Lenain, L., and W.K. Melville. 2014. Autonomous surface vehicle measurements of the ocean’s response to Tropical Cyclone Freda. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 31(10):2,169–2,190, https://doi.org/​10.1175/JTECH-D-14-00012.1.

Le Quéré, C., C. Rödenbeck, E.T. Buitenhuis, T.J. Conway, R. Langenfelds, and A. Gom. 2007. Saturation of the Southern Ocean CO2 sink due to recent climate change. Science 316:1,735–1,738, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1136188.

Marshall, J., and K. Speer. 2012. Closure of the meridional overturning circulation through Southern Ocean upwelling. Nature Geoscience 5:171–180, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1391.

McWilliams, J.C., and J.M. Restrepo. 1999. The wave-driven ocean circulation. Journal of Physical Oceanography 29:2,523–2,540, https://doi.org/​10.1175/1520-0485(1999)029​<2523:TWDOC>2.0.CO;2.

Mitarai, S., and J.C. McWilliams. 2016. Wave Glider observations of surface winds and currents in the core of Typhoon Danas. Geophysical Research Letters 43:11,312–11,319, https://doi.org/​10.1002/2016GL071115.

National Research Council. 2011. Future Science Opportunities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, https://doi.org/10.17226/13169.

O’Neill, L.W., D.B. Chelton, and S.K. Esbensen. 2012. Covariability of surface wind and stress responses to sea surface temperature fronts. Journal of Climate 25, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00230.1.

Oost, W., G. Komen, C. Jacobs, and C. Van Oort. 2002. New evidence for a relation between wind stress and wave age from measurements during ASGAMAGE. Boundary Layer Meteorology 103:409–438, https://doi.org/​10.1023/A:1014913624535.

Pierson, W.J. Jr., and L. Moskowitz. 1964. A proposed spectral form for fully developed wind seas based on the similarity theory of S.A. Kitaigorodskii. Journal of Geophysical Research 69:5,181–5,190, https://doi.org/10.1029/JZ069i024p05181.

Rintoul, S.R., K. Speer, M. Sparrow, M. Meredith, E. Hofmann, E. Fahrbach, C. Summerhayes, A. Worby, M. England, R. Bellerby, and others. 2010. Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS): Rationale and strategy for sustained observations of the Southern Ocean. In Proceedings of OceanObs 09: Sustained Ocean Observations and Information for Society, vol. 2. Venice, Italy, September 21–25, 2009, J. Hall, D.E. Harrison, and D. Stammer, eds, European Space Agency Publication WPP-306, https://doi.org/10.5270/OceanObs09.cwp.74.

Saha, S., S. Moorthi, H.-L. Pan, X. Wu, J. Wang, S. Nadiga, P. Tripp, R. Kistler, J. Woollen, D. Behringer, and others. 2010. The NCEP climate forecast system reanalysis. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 91(8):1,015–1,056, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010BAMS3001.1.

Schwendeman, M., and J. Thomson. 2015. Observations of whitecap coverage and the relation to wind stress, wave slope, and turbulent dissipation. Journal of Geophysical Research 120:8,346–8,363, https://doi.org/​10.1002/2015JC011196.

Small, R.J., S.P. DeSzoeke, S.P. Xie, L. O’Neill, H. Seo, Q. Song, P. Cornillon, M. Spall, and S. Minobe. 2008. Air-sea interaction over ocean fronts and eddies. Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans 45:274–319, https://doi.org/10.1016/​j.dynatmoce.2008.01.001.

Swart, N.C., and J.C. Fyfe. 2012. Ocean carbon uptake and storage influenced by wind bias in global climate models. Nature Climate Change 2:47–52, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1289.

Takagaki, N., S. Komori, N. Suzuki, K. Iwano, T. Kuramoto, S. Shimada, R. Kurose, and K. Takahashi. 2012. Strong correlation between the drag coefficient and the shape of the wind sea spectrum over a broad range of wind speeds. Geophysical Research Letters 39, L23604, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL053988.

Weller, R.A. 2015. Variability and trends in surface meteorology and air-sea fluxes at a site off northern Chile. Journal of Climate 28:3,004–3,023, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00591.1.

Copyright & Usage

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.