We successfully recovered the glider (RU05) this morning. Over the course of its 9 day deployment, RU05 flew over 170 km (more than 100
miles) and made more than 600 casts. By comparison, over the past two months Elizabeth and I have been taking our zodiac (Bruiser) out to sample at stations E and B near Palmer. Over those 2 months, we have made approximately 80 casts to collect salinity, temperature, and bio- optics data through the water column. I think the glider won this round. Plus, the glider collected samples during some pretty intense winds. For 3 days during the RU05’s deployment, the winds at Palmer Station were sustained at 25 miles per hour with gusts to 50 miles per hour. A fleet of these things would make life a lot easier for us and would also improve our picture of what’s happening in the ocean. Here is a clip we made of our deployment and recovery of RU05.