RAPID: Glider Observations in the Gulf of Mexico in Response to the Oil Spill

知识价值：墨西哥湾“深水地平线”石油泄漏事件要求海洋学界迅速做出反应，测量地下石油及其流向。该提案是部署一个配备CTD、CDOM荧光计和ADP的喷雾滑翔机，以观测地下石油和一般海洋条件。CDOM荧光测量和声波后向散射强度的结合将用于探测水中的油。工作将与伍兹霍尔海洋研究所的布雷克·欧文斯合作，他将在滑翔机驾驶中发挥重要作用。该滑翔机将于6月的第一周从路易斯安那州的Cocodrie部署到阿卡迪亚号上。滑翔机将被送到泄漏地点的南部，远离海面浮油，目的是观察海面下石油的范围。这些数据将实时广泛传播，以便建立海洋条件和初始化预测模式。更广泛的影响：由于石油泄漏具有极端的社会重要性，这里提出的这项工作可能会产生巨大的更广泛的影响。公众对石油泄漏的兴趣极高，媒体也进行了密集的报道。对地下石油的成功观测将影响多年来对石油泄漏的反应。海洋科学家合作解决这一全国性问题可能会成为未来的典范。由滑翔机产生的数据可以改善对该地区洋流的预测，这对于了解石油如何分散至关重要。这种滑翔机的使用是它们作为快速反应工具的一个很好的例子。

Intellectual Merit: The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico requires a rapid response by the oceanographic community to measure subsurface oil and where it is going. The proposal is to deploy a Spray glider equipped with a CTD, CDOM fluorometer, and ADP in an effort to observe subsurface oil and general oceanographic conditions. The combination of CDOM fluorometer measurements and acoustic backscatter intensity will be used to sense oil in water. Work will be in collaboration with Breck Owens of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who will take an important role in glider piloting. The glider will be deployed from Cocodrie, Louisiana aboard the vessel Acadiana during the first week of June. The glider will be sent south of the spill site, and away from surface slicks, with the goal of observing the offshore extent of subsurface oil. The data will be widely disseminated in real time for the purpose of establishing oceanic conditions and initializing predictive models.Broader Impacts: As the oil spill is of extreme societal importance, this work proposed here has potentially huge broader impacts. Public interest in the oil spill is extremely high, with intense media coverage. A successful demonstration of the observation of subsurface oil will influence the response to oil spills for years. The collaboration of ocean scientists to address this problem of national scope may prove to be a model for the future. The data generated by gliders may lead to improved prediction of ocean currents in the region, which is essential for knowing how the oil will disperse. This use of gliders is an excellent example of their utility as a tool for rapid response.