FAIRBANKS — Crew members of University of Alaska Fairbanks research vessel Sikuliaq recently rescued a $200,000, UAF-owned underwater research glider in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast.
UAF scientists said the Slocum Glider — a yellow, 5-foot long, computerized vehicle with wings and a rudder — was programmed to dive repeatedly to 164 feet and gather data on marine life, water temperatures, salinity and currents. The glider then communicated the data to researchers, who controlled the machine remotely.
“You can pilot it from anywhere, with a cup of coffee, in your pajamas,” said University of Washington researcher Kate Stafford, who was working on the project with Brita Irving, a scientist with the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.
The glider was launched in July and wasn’t set to be picked up until October, but the robot stopped communicating in August.
Because the glider couldn’t communicate, it couldn’t report what was wrong or change its trajectory. It could, however, report its location via satellite.
Stafford happened to be aboard the Sikuliaq this summer as a co-investigator on a project in the Beaufort Sea.
The research vessel was scheduled to sail through the Chukchi sea, close to the missing glider. Stafford knew this was their only chance to rescue the glider and retrieve a month of valuable data. So she asked Sikuliaq Capt. Forest McMullen to make a slight detour. McMullen agreed.
“We had to seize the moment,” McMullen said. “The glider and all its data could have been lost.”
So the Sikuliaq went off-course for a few hours. When the ship got close enough to the missing glider, Stafford was able to use communication technology to tell the glider to stay on the surface.
The weather was rough on the day of the rescue, and though the Sikuliaq is equipped with strong spotlights, those aboard said it was difficult to spot the small glider in the midst of 8- to 12-foot waves. The rough seas made rescuing the glider impossible with one of the Sikuliaq’s smaller ships, which meant the giant research vessel would have to get close enough to the floating glider for crew members to scoop it from the seas with a crane.
The rescue attempt lasted late into the night. Ashjian spotted the machine a little after 1 a.m.
The crew of the research vessel had created a makeshift scoop from a cargo net they had on board. The net was attached to a ship crane. On its second attempt, the crane plucked the glider from the ocean.
Stafford said the quickly formulated plan went off without a hitch.
“It was perfect,” she said.
“It could not have gone smoother.”
Stafford said nothing appeared to be wrong with the glider. She suspected the problem in data communication lay with its Iridium antenna. Stafford conducted diagnostic reports, which have been sent for additional analyses on what went wrong.
Stafford credited the ship’s crew and team of researchers for saving the glider and its “irreplaceable data.” Stafford said had the rescue attempt not worked out so well, the data likely would have been lost.
Those aboard the Sikuliaq thought rescuing the glider was the only responsible option.
It was the right thing to do, Carin Ashjian, the project’s chief scientist, said. The Arctic research community is small, and work in the Arctic is difficult, she added.
“I was glad we were able to help.” she said.
The glider was funded by the Alaska Ocean Observing System and North Pacific Research Board. Data collected from the machine will help researchers better understand marine life in Arctic waters, the university said.
Contact staff writer Erin Granger at 459-7544. Follow her on Twitter:@FDNMPolitics.
