Exploring the potential of ocean gliders: a pirate-proof technique to illuminate mesoscale physical-biological interactions off the coast of Oman

西北印度洋（阿拉伯海、阿拉伯湾）是一个迷人的地方，在全球海洋生态系统中起着重要作用。从一个季节到下一个季节，风的方向完全改变；这被称为季风系统。在半年的时间里，风从西南风吹来。由于地球自转，从这个方向吹来的风把阿曼海岸的水吹走了。这从海洋表面下带来了深冷水，这通常与海洋植物藻类的快速生长（称为水华）有关。这种上涌的水很冷，但最重要的是，溶解在水中的氧气含量非常低。这一点很重要，因为鱼类无法在低氧水中生存。有时藻华是有毒的。但科学家们还不明白水是如何首先变得低氧的，或者为什么水华会在何时何地发生。这个项目希望能阐明这些问题。这些都是管理阿拉伯海的重要问题，也是阿曼人民的重要问题。有毒的藻华和鱼类死亡事件破坏了当地的渔业和人口的食物来源，并可能通过食物污染导致当地人口死亡。这些科学问题的进展停滞不前的一个原因是阿拉伯海受到海盗的困扰。大型国际科考船无法前往那里。所以我们必须更有想象力。一种可能的解决方案是使用被称为海洋滑翔机的自主水下航行器来进行我们通常在船上进行的测量。这些滑翔机由科学家利用电脑和卫星通信远程操控。它们大部分时间都像潜艇一样在水下度过，所以人们不会知道它们在那里。滑翔机也会实时发回数据，所以即使海盗决定偷走滑翔机，我们仍然有数据。该项目将首次汇集来自英国和阿曼的科学家，探讨如何最好地利用这一最先进的技术来解决有关阿曼沿海海洋过程的这些问题。这需要多学科的方法；滑翔机将测量水的物理、化学和生物特性。这个项目将汇集两组科学家的专业知识，设计一个试验，在该地区进行一次短期的滑翔机部署，并分析结果。从试验中吸取的经验教训将帮助我们规划一个更雄心勃勃的实地项目，作为英国和阿曼联合为本十年后半期的一项大型国际运动做出的贡献，以推进我们对印度洋的科学认识。

The northwestern Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea, Arabian Gulf) is a fascinating place that plays an important role in the global ocean ecosystem. The winds completely change direction from one season to the next; this is called the monsoon system. During half the year, the winds blow from the southwest. Because of the rotation of the Earth, a wind from this direction moves the water away from the coast of Oman. This brings up deep cold water from below the ocean surface, which is often associated with rapid growth (called blooms) of ocean plant life called algae. This upwelled water is cold, but most importantly, it is very low in the amount of oxygen gas dissolved in the water. This is important, because fish cannot survive in low oxygen water. Sometimes the algal blooms are toxic. But scientists really don't yet understand the way in which the water becomes low in oxygen in the first place, or why the blooms happen when and where they do. This project hopes to shed light on these issues. These are important questions for the management of the Arabian Sea, and also for the people of Oman. Toxic algal blooms and fish kill events damage the local fishing industry and the food source for the population, and can cause death in the local population through contamination of food.One reason that progress on these scientific questions has stalled is that the Arabian Sea is troubled by piracy. Large international research ships are not able to go there. So we have to be more imaginative. One possible solution is to use autonomous underwater vehicles called ocean gliders to make the measurements we would normally make from ships. The gliders are piloted remotely by scientists using their computers and satellite communication. They spend most of their time underwater like a submarine, so people won't know they're there. The gliders send their data back in real time too, so even if the pirates did decide to steal the glider, we would still have the data. This project will bring together, for the first time, scientists from the UK and from Oman, to explore how we can best use this state-of-the-art technology to address these questions regarding the ocean processes off the coast of Oman. This requires a multi-disciplinary approach; the gliders will be measuring the physical, chemical and biological properties of the water. This project will pool the expertise of both sets of scientists, to design a trial, carry out a short deployment of a glider in the region, and analyse the results. The lessons learned from the trial will help us to plan a more ambitious field programme, as a joint UK-Oman contribution to a big international campaign in the latter half of this decade to move forward our scientific understanding of the Indian Ocean.