Gliders Ready for Tropical Storm Jerry

SECOORA gliders are capturing water column information ahead of Tropical Storm Jerry as he moves closer to the US. Data from gliders allows forecasters and scientists to improve predictions of the storm’s potential intensity.

NEWS
September 19, 2019
Pictured above are the gliders on the SECOORA Data portal. Access Franklin data here and Sam data here.

 SECOORA gliders are capturing water column information ahead of Tropical Storm Jerry as he moves closer to the US. Data from gliders allows forecasters and scientists to improve predictions of the storm’s potential intensity.

Two gliders were deployed this month. The SECOORA glider Franklin (operated by UGA/SkIO) was deployed off the coast of Georgia and the USF glider Sam off the East coast of Florida.  

Glider Data

In the image above, salinity from the ocean surface down to 25m is plotted. This data, provided by Franklin and collected near Grey’s reef, shows that salinity is relatively constant through the water column.

The fleet is collecting water temperature and salinity measurements throughout the water column. Every 4 hours they transmit data back to land via satellite. This data helps scientist and forecasters identify how hurricanes mix sub-surface and surface waters.

NC State University supplies daily CNAPS model output of surface currents. This model output provides context, such as the location of the Gulf Stream and Gulf Stream eddies, for the glider observations (pictured above).

Learn More

Listen to the Weather Geeks podcast, What Flies Beneath: How Underwater Gliders Can Improve Hurricane Forecasts, to learn more!