Gliders: Excellent New Tools for Observing the Ocean (GENTOO)

我们都喜欢有一个机器人为我们服务的想法。科学家们意识到，机器人技术现在提供了令人兴奋的可能性，以我们梦寐以求的方式观察我们的环境。我们将使用一个由三个机器人组成的舰队在南极洲附近的海洋中漫游，以回答科学问题，这些问题对于我们在前所未有的变化时代预测和管理海洋及其生物资源的能力至关重要。我们将使用的机器人被称为海洋滑翔机。就像我们熟悉的空中滑翔机一样，它们没有螺旋桨。电池驱动泵在滑翔机内的一个区域和船体外的另一个区域之间移动流体，从而改变滑翔机的密度是否比海水大，所以它下沉，或者密度比海水小，所以它上升到海面。它上下滑动，每次到达水面时都通过移动的电话与控制它的科学家进行交流。近年来，石油价格急剧上涨，船舶使用大量石油。使用滑翔机作为我们未来海洋和气候观测系统的一部分将节省纳税人的钱，因为一些海洋观测可以通过遥控滑翔机更有效地完成。滑翔机也可以观察海洋，当我们真的不想在那里与船舶，如在冬季或强风和波涛汹涌。这个项目计划表明，这些可能性都在我们的掌握之中。我们已经组建了一个多学科的科学家团队，他们共同努力解决南极洲周围海洋系统如何运作的难题。当冷风吹过水面时，密集的冷水在南极洲大陆周围下沉，并帮助海冰形成。我们已经知道了近100年，这发生在南部威德尔海。我们认为，由于拉森冰架最近的崩溃，这种情况现在可能正在一个新的地区发生。我们的滑翔机将测量从大陆架溢出的密集水的数量。这一点很重要，因为气候模型表明，这种稠密水的数量和性质可能会影响控制我们气候的全球海洋翻转环流;我们需要知道这些是否正在发生变化。这种溢出大陆坡的密集海水可能也影响了洋流的位置。因此，随着海水密度的变化，这些洋流可能会向岸上或离岸移动。我们将尝试测量和理解这一点。洋流的这些变化也影响到生活在南极洲附近沃茨的动物。磷虾是一种类似虾的生物，是鲸鱼、海豹和企鹅等动物的猎物，更不用说支撑了数百万磅磷虾捕捞业（吃过磷虾披萨吗？）。磷虾在南极半岛周围产卵，然后被洋流带过斯科舍海到达南格鲁吉亚。虽然对南极洲西部的半岛进行了很好的调查，但我们不知道有多少磷虾在半岛东侧的威德尔海，可能在海冰下度过冬天。洋流的变化是否会影响这些磷虾到达南格鲁吉亚？如果我们能够确定磷虾在冰下生存，并可能前往南格鲁吉亚，那么海洋哺乳动物和磷虾捕捞业可能不会像我们担心的那样容易受到气候变化的影响。在这种情况下，磷虾可能会成为一个更重要的食物资源，我们人类也在一个不确定的未来;你永远不知道，磷虾比萨饼可能会找到它的方式到您当地的超市不久！

We all love the idea of having a robot to do our bidding. Scientists are realising that robot technology now offers exciting possibilities to observe our environment in ways we have only dreamt of. We will use a fleet of three robots roaming the ocean near Antarctica to answer science questions that are critical to our ability to predict and manage the ocean and its living resources in an era of unprecedented change. The robots we will use are called ocean gliders. Much like the familiar airborne gliders, they do not have a propeller. Batteries drive a pump to move fluid between one area within the glider and another outside its hull, thus changing whether the glider is denser than seawater, so it sinks, or less dense than seawater, so it rises to the sea surface. It glides up and down, communicating via mobile phone with the scientists controlling it each time it comes to the surface. Oil prices have risen sharply in recent years, and ships use a great deal of oil. Using gliders as part of our future ocean and climate observing systems will save tax-payers' money since some ocean observations can be done much more efficiently by remotely controlled gliders. Gliders can also observe the ocean when we'd really rather not be there with ships, such as in winter or in strong winds and heavy seas. This project plans to show that these possibilities are within our grasp. We have assembled a multidisciplinary team of scientists who together are grappling with puzzles about how the ocean system works around Antarctica. Dense cold water sinks around the continent of Antarctica when cold wind blows over the water and helps sea ice to form. We've known for nearly 100 years that this happens in the southern Weddell Sea. We think that this might now be happening in a new region, because of the recent collapse of the Larsen Ice Shelf. Our gliders will measure the amount of dense water spilling off the continental shelf. This is important because climate models suggest that the amount and properties of this dense water are likely to impact on the global ocean overturning circulation that controls our climate; we need to know if these are changing. This dense water spilling over the continental slope probably also affects where the ocean currents are. So these currents might be moving further onshore or offshore, as the dense water changes. We'll try to measure and understand this. These changes in the ocean currents also affect the animals living in the waters near Antarctica. Krill are shrimp-like creatures that form the prey for animals such as whales, seals and penguins, not to mention underpinning a multi-million pound krill fishing industry (ever had a krill pizza?). Krill lay their eggs around the Antarctic Peninsula, and are then carried across the Scotia Sea to South Georgia by the ocean currents. Whilst the west Antarctic Peninsula is well surveyed, we don't know how many krill are in the Weddell Sea, on the eastern side of the Peninsula, possibly spending the winter under sea ice. Might the changes in ocean current affect whether these krill reach South Georgia? If we can establish that the krill are surviving under the ice and could travel to South Georgia, it may be that marine mammals and the krill fishing industry will be less vulnerable to climate change than we have feared. In which case, krill may become a more important food resource for us humans too in an uncertain future; you never know, the krill pizza may find its way to your local supermarket before long!