The Exocetus Coastal Glider (CG), a new oceanographic underwater glider that was developed to operate in coastal waters at depths as shallow as 10m, has now been successfully tested in coastal waters shallower than 5m. This has just been announced by Dr. Joe Imlach, CEO/CTO of Exocetus Development LLC.
The Exocetus [x-o-seat-us — is the name of a flying fish] glider is designed for environmental monitoring in coastal waters with currents in excess of 1m/s and can operate in waters with large density variations due to the Exocetus patented adaptive ballasting control system.
With the support of the University of Southern Mississippi [USM] staff at the Stennis Space Center, glider tests were conducted in the Pearl River on November 20, 2013, where water depths vary from 1 to 5 m. The Exocetus Coastal Glider operated in both upstream and downstream water conditions. The Exocetus Glider was surprisingly able to successfully complete 180 degree turns in waters as shallow as 3 m, surpassing previous demonstrations of the product.
When weather conditions improve in the Gulf of Mexico at the beginning of 2014, the hypoxia sensors on the Exocetus Coastal Glider will be further tested by USM staff. The hypoxia sensors include a WetLabs ECO FLNTU with a turbidity and fluorescence sensors; and a RINKO dissolved oxygen sensor.
