The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and the Met Office have been collaborating since the 1990s to develop ocean models that can increase weather forecasting capabilities. They recently extended their partnership contract another three years to continue work on one of their latest projects – underwater gliders.
Cutting-edge underwater gliders operated by NOC will navigate through the North Sea, taking measurements such as salinity and temperature, and deliver the data to the Met Office in near real-time. Salinity and temperature are very important drivers in ocean-atmosphere interactions, and will provide more in-depth information on ocean circulation.
Measurements from the underwater robots are part of a wider program that aims to increase the amount of observational data for ingestion into weather forecasting models. Eventually, this information will help inform future ocean modeling conditions and will support decision making in vital services such as search and rescue, counter-pollution, and ocean biodiversity.
