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How do the scientists collect data when they are in Antarctica?
How do the scientists collect data when they are in Antarctica?
Tool #1: Robotic Underwater Gliders
Tool #1: Robotic Underwater Gliders
The Robotic Underwater Glider can carry out missions that last weeks at a time. They have a satellite tracking system that allows them to be monitored throughout the mission.
The glider undergoes changes in buoyancy which allows it to move in a wave-like pattern through the water.
Carrying a wide variety of sensors, gliders can be programmed to patrol for weeks at a time, surfacing to transmit their data to shore while downloading new instructions.
Get more information on how these gliders work by watching the video below.
Get more information on how these gliders work by watching the video below.
How do gliders use light to detect the phytoplankton?
How do gliders use light to detect the phytoplankton?
To measure the amount of phytoplankton, the glider measures the amount of chlorophyll (the pigment that absorbs light to carry out photosynthesis). By taking a water sample at different locations in the ocean, a built in device can shine light through the sample and measure how much of it gets absorbed. This measurement is directly related to the amount of phytoplankton in that sample.
Tool #2: HF Radar
Tool #2: HF Radar
Data from the surface of the water is collected using the high frequency (Hf) radar system
The system sends out radio waves and then measures what gets sent back at the system
Because the radio waves get bounced in many different directions, scientists set up multiple HF stations to collect data.
Oceanographers determine surface currents, wave heights and frequency using this data.
How is the data from the HF Radar system organized?
How is the data from the HF Radar system organized?
This map shows the currents above the Palmer Deep Canyon on January 16th of this year. The arrows indicate the direction of the current, while the color of the arrow indicates the speed of the current (m/s). The three HF radar systems that collected this data are shown by red dots.
Get more information on the HF Radar System by watching the video below.
Get more information on the HF Radar System by watching the video below.
Tool #3 Penguin Tags
Tool #3 Penguin Tags
Used to track the movement and foraging patterns of penguins.
Attached to the back of the penguins using duct tape.
After 3-5 days the tags are manually removed from the penguins by the scientists.
The first 4.5 minutes of the video below will provide you with more information about these penguin trackers!
The first 4.5 minutes of the video below will provide you with more information about these penguin trackers!
Here is some of the data that was collected from the tracking devices:
Here is some of the data that was collected from the tracking devices:
The blue lines indicate the paths taken by the Adelie Penguins
The red lines indicate the paths taken by the Gentoo Penguins
What do you notice about the differences between the swimming patterns of these penguins?
Tool #4: Moorings
Tool #4: Moorings
Moorings are used to keep equipment at consistent depths in the water column
For Project Swarm, the scientists attached the moorings to echosounders to identify where the krill were located.
The echosounders work similarly to the HF Radar in that waves are sent out into the water and the backscatter is detected. In this case the sound waves would bounce off dense aggregates of krill.
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