Lab News
SeaExplorer X2 glider training
January 21, 2022
Last week, we completed the training of our new ALSEAMAR SeaExplorer X2 glider that arrived at VIMS in October 2021. The purchase of this new glider is funded by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS) as part of the overall effort to improve ocean observing capacity and capabilities in the Mid-Atlantic region. The glider will be used primarily for MARACOOS deployments but will also support ONR and NSF research efforts.
An emergency glider rescue at sea!!
November 18, 2021
The marine mammals in the ocean are some of the most intelligent as well as endangered species on Earth. Ocean gliders installed with hydrophones have been used to study marine mammals for a number of years. One of the gliders from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was advected into the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight by the shelf break current and required an emergency rescue before it's pulled into the Gulf Stream. Dr. Gong conducted the emergency recovery. Check out the biological growth on the glider after spending a couple of months at sea!!
C2PO completes hurricane glider deployment for 2020 field season
November 16, 2020
C2PO gliders Amelia and Sylvia had been deployed off the coast of Virginia since August 2020. During this time, they have served realtime hydrographic data to the Glider Data Assembly Center (GDAC) to help data assimilative numerical model to improve hurricane intensity forecasting.
Successful Completion of the Northwest Passage Project
August 12, 2019
After years of preparation and planning, the Northwest Passage Project finally completed its expedition into the Canadian Arctic in July and August of 2019. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Heising-Simons Foundation. A group of 18 undergraduate students different parts of the United States along with two young Inuit investigators from Canada spent 3 weeks at sea to investigate the changing Arctic. Dr. Gong led the physical oceanography team on the expedition.
Glider Exploration of the Mid-Atlantic Submarine Canyons
August 11, 2018
The C2PO lab has been systematically surveying the submarine canyons in the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight using underwater gliders. Since 2013 we have conducted repeated surveys of Norfolk Canyon, Washington Canyon, and Wilmington Canyon. This observational program has led to a new understanding regarding the importance of canyon upwelling in driving cross-shelf-slope exchange in the MAB.