Dora the Slocum glider    

Say hello to TAMUG’s newest addition: Dora the Ocean Explorer

By TEXAS A&M at GALVESTON

GALVESTON — The Marine Science Department at Texas A&M University at Galveston is entering a new phase of ocean exploration.

A new underwater ocean glider equipped with a multitude of sensors will soon be roaming the Gulf of Mexico to collect critical data to improve understanding of water circulation.

That data is important to predicting oil spill distribution in the Gulf of Mexico and to understanding the Gulf’s heat budget, which in turn helps predict hurricane intensification. The data also will help improve the understanding of the diverse carbon cycle in the Gulf.

Researchers Ayal Anis, Rainer Amon and Robin Brinkmeyer are spearheading the efforts and have acquired the ocean glider with funds from the National Science Foundation and TAMUG.

To give the glider a send-off for the first long-term mission in the Gulf of Mexico, the Marine Science Department invited a group of second and third graders from Satori Elementary School to say hello to “Dora the Ocean Explorer.”

The students got to sign their names on the glider and will be able to follow its whereabouts throughout the mission from an online computer at the school in Galveston.

For anybody else interested in the glider missions, you can follow the track of the TAMUG glider and others online at gcoos.org/products/maps/gerg/glider201310/, starting in mid-December.

The TAMUG glider is part of a new initiative in Ocean Sciences at Texas A&M, including the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group and the Oceanography Department in College Station.

More information about the Marine Science Department and student opportunities can be found at www.tamug.edu/mars/index.html.