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

智力优势：墨西哥湾的深水地平线石油泄漏需要海洋学界迅速作出反应，以测量地下石油及其去向。建议部署一架配备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荧光计测量和声学后向散射强度的组合将用于感测水中的油。这项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部署在Dalladiana号船上。滑翔机将被送到泄漏地点的南部，远离表面浮油，目的是观察近海地下石油的范围。这些数据将以真实的时间广泛传播，以便建立海洋状况和初始化预测模型。更广泛的影响：由于石油泄漏具有极端的社会重要性，这里提议的这项工作可能会产生巨大的更广泛的影响。公众对漏油事件的兴趣极高，媒体进行了密集报道。对地下石油观测的成功示范将影响多年来对石油泄漏的反应。海洋科学家为解决这一全国性问题而开展的合作可能成为今后的一个模式。滑翔机产生的数据可能会改善对该地区洋流的预测，这对于了解石油将如何分散至关重要。滑翔机的使用是其作为快速反应工具的效用的一个很好的例子。

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.