Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Tahesha Way
NJ Home | Services A to Z | Departments/Agencies | FAQs  
State of New Jersey-Department of Environmental Protection - Division of Water Monitoring, Standards and Pesticide Control
State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
DEP Home | About DEP | Index by Topic | Programs/Units | DEP Online 

Public Health
and Safety

Ecological Health








  Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring



Photo Credits: Rutgers University


Slocum Gliders are autonomous underwater vehicles that navigate ocean waters collecting data at various depth levels approximately every second for multiple parameters. Parameters include Temperature, Salinity, Dissolved Oxygen, Dissolved Oxygen Saturation, Chlorophyll 'a', and Depth. Data is collected from surface to bottom, east to west, and north to south providing a detailed three-dimensional view of ocean conditions.

Since 2002, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's (NJDEP) Integrated Water Quality Assessment Report has listed NJ's Ocean waters as impaired for Dissolved Oxygen (DO). To more effectively comprehend ocean dynamics and to determine if low DO levels are natural or from anthropogenic inputs, the use of continuous slocum glider data acquisition technology is being applied. Through use of both glider and ocean benthic community data, an in-depth assessment of our Ocean's ecological conditions are underway.


Objectives for Slocum Glider Deployment


Acquisition of data from NJDEP's Slocum Glider would not have been possible without funding provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2012, the EPA made available through S106 Monitoring Initiative funds, the ability for NJDEP to purchase the Slocum Glider. In addition, the assistance of Dr. Josh Kohut from the Marine and Coastal Sciences department at Rutgers University has been critical to all of our Glider deployments. His technical expertise for calibrating, deploying, maintaining, and retrieving the Slocum Glider is essential to successfully implement all phases of the Slocum Glider missions.


Slocum Glider Flight Paths


2011

2012

2013

glider 2011

ru16-20110810T1330

ru07-20111006T1820




glider 2012

ru28-20120814T1519

ru28-20120710T1438

ru07-20120913T1512

ru07-20120607T1540

glider 2013

ru28-20130912T1650

ru28-20130813T1436

ru28-20130717T1434



2014


2015


2016

glider 2014

ru28-20140717T1432

ru28-20140815T1405

ru28-20170424T1310


glider 2015

ru28-20150917T1300

ru28-20150818T1506

ru28-20150714T1445


glider 2016

ru28-20161003T1309

ru28-20160901T1305

ru32-20160810T1309



2017


2018


2019

glider 2017

ru28-20171019T1322

ru28-20170915T1416

ru28-20170424T1310


glider 2018

ru28-20181023T1320

ru28-20180920T1334

ru28-20180501T1528


glider 2019

ru28-20191025T1640

ru28-20190926T1413

ru28-20190717T1522



2020


glider 2020

ru28-20201028T1927

ru28-20201009T1155