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Gliding Away

WHOI scientist Al Plueddemann (center) and engineers Aidan Alai (left) and John Lund (right) prepare a glider for deployment. Gliders are autonomous underwater vehicles that moves through the ocean by changing their buoyancy. As it moves, the glider collects data such as temperature and salinity, which it transmits to scientists on shore via satellite. Data from a similar glider recently provided new data to help reveal previously unknown circulation patterns in the ocean at the edge of the continental shelf. (Photo courtesy of Al Plueddemann, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)