1. Defining the Mid-Atlantic Cold Pool-2007 with Ocean Gliders
W. S. Brown
Dept of Estuarine & Ocean Sciences
School for Marine Science & Technology
UMass Dartmouth
Collaborators
O. Schofield, S. Glenn, & J. Kohut (Rutgers);
W. Boicourt (U Maryland)
UMassD Retirement Assn.
6 November 2013 1

2. Mid Atlantic Bight (MAB) COLD POOL
remnant winter water -> Cold Pool isolated by springtime surface warming
Ou & Houghton 1982
NOAA/NMFS 1979 Survey Bottom Temperatures
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE
Cold Pool evolves in TIME-SPACE
….from
“cradle (May) to grave (October)”
.. fed by cold water from the east
..warmed during summer
..destroyed by autumn storms

3. Cold Water INFLOW to the Mid Atlantic Bight early summer

4. During summer Coldest Patch of COLD POOL Water warms “moves down the shelf” (~ 5 km/day )
minimum
bottom temperature
August bottom temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB)
(based on NMFS data by Ou & Houghton, 1982)

5. COLD POOL SCIENCE QUESTIONS
What processes cause the gradual warming of the Cold Pool over the spring and summer?
What processes cause the autumn collapse of the Cold Pool?
What are the dominant factors that cause
year-to-year changes
in the Cold Pool?

6. THE PROBLEM How do we map the elusive COLD POOL?
Not by satellites ! …COLD POOL shielded by warm surface layer
Ocean Gliders
YES !
…..a cost-effective technology

7. Slocum Ocean Glider

8. How do ocean gliders work?
Move laterally thru “change in buoyancy”
“Saw-tooth” motion => 1 km per hour
- Glide downward
- Detect bottom ……….glide upward
- Detect surface ……… glide downward
Surface every 3 hours
- GPS located
- 2-way “conversations” with command center
“via satellite”
- Real-time data transmissions
Measure Ocean Properties
T, C(S), O2, backscatter, fluorescence + …
day alkaline battery lifetime => 600 km.
 km 
| |
100 m 8

9. Opportunistic “slices of the COLD POOL” ..with gliders
Gliders Operations
..virtually independent of weather
..can be maintained at sea indefinitely
…cost-effective survey technology
Rutgers U – present
Glider Trajectory Composite
transits
repeat weekly cross-shelf
zig-zag monthy long-shelf
zig-zag monthly along-beach

10. Mapping the 2007 Coastal Ocean ….with a ONE-GLIDER “Fleet “
April-May 2007

11. Mapping the 2007 Coastal Ocean ….with a ONE-GLIDER “Fleet “
May-June 2007

12. Mapping the 2007 Coastal Ocean ….with a ONE-GLIDER “Fleet “
September –
October
2007

13. Mapping the September-October COLD POOL? ….with a
Gliders +
Data Assimilation Models

14. Launching BLUE It takes a community to “launch a glider”
SMAST/UMassD
Chris Jakubiak
glider engineer/pilot
Richard Arena
Asst. oceanographer/pilot +
The MARACOOS
Glider Technicial Center
..a team of experienced experts

15. 2013 ..BLUE is off to find the COLD POOL

16. The 2013 COLD POOL …. a glider’s eye view during Glider Palooza
ESPRESSO
Bottom Temperature
27 May 2013

17. The 2013 COLD POOL …. a model’s eye view before Glider Palooza
ESPRESSO
Bottom Temperature
27 May 2013

18. Summary Forecasting the Mid Atlantic Bight COLD POOL Ocean Gliders
…. a challenging but rewarding goal!
Ocean Gliders
…. a cost-effective technology for Cold Pool observation
Real-time (“timely”) Maps of the Cold Pool
.… require glider data & data –ingesting ocean & weather model s