On the deck of R/V Knorr, WHOI physical oceanographer Dave Fratantoni inspected one of several wave gliders, which were deployed during the SPURS expedition. The vehicles use wave motion to propel themselves through the ocean and solar-charged batteries to power their sensors, which will measure temperature, salinity, and meteorological conditions. Other instruments used on the expedition included autonomous gliders, sensor-laden buoys and floats, unmanned underwater vehicles, and expendable bathythermographs. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
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