Hey guys.
As Scott posted, “each glider has his/her own personality”. If there is a word to describe the Silbo,s personality this, definitely, is the “STRENGTH”… He has crossed in these 2000 kms significant changes in the marine conditions (strong meridional/vertical T/Salinity/density gradients).
However, Silbo has shown to be able to change his role, and our little and brave droid becomes a fast glider when current conditions are good (14 km/segment at half buoyancy), or technical improvements are done (full buoyancy mode) (figure 1).
Figure 1.- Silbo course from 2nd to 11th september 11
Another example of his strength is the way he fights the storms without the current corrector (off since some month ago). A Spaniard proverb says “do not wait the end of the storm…learn to walk in the rain”… Silbo looks to be the paradigm of this deep thought.. Definitely he has learnt…Better, he has had to learn…31 storms in 80 days of mission. 1 storm each 2.5 days….Irene and katia included.
He follows being a little yellow spot fighting in the middle of the ocean, with the waves, the wind and the currents that become stronger by moments due to a series of 5 storms that had been passing the last week…He can hardly advances more than 4 km in the best segments, but the follows drfting to SW surfing the counter strong currents and waiting that direction finally turn to S (SW SE)…
Our target is touching the 26 W meridian until crossing the 44.5 N, where some submarine hills appear eastern 25º20´ W would risk the glider (< 900m depth). However, Silbo will emerge this night surfing strong waves (Hs : 6-9 m). The Tropical storm Katia is coming to his flying geographic domain. (figure 2a and 2b).
Figure 2a and 2b.- Katia tropical storm effect on waves (21.00pm – 06.00am, 11-12 sept 2011).
Then, on tuesday afternoon and wednesday, the aftermath (figure 3).
Figure 3.- The aftermath (12 sept 2011).
It will be a good opportunity to make a balance of his course and his incredible job recording oeanographic information of the water column down this extreme meteoevents (tropical storm/hurricane/cyclon/typhoon passing over) ….Only a few gliders (RU16 the last) has had this great opportunity: flying under and target its effect on the water column. We expect that silbo would report a similar profile of temperature to this, observed during the Irene (et al) storms passing the last week (silbo was crossing the 2000 km line). It signal was previously reported by ru16 in the eastern coast USA (http://maracoos.org/irene/). It will be an incredilbe exercise to assit in real time to what will happen in the ocean with a tropical storm as Katia, that seems to have grown since his passing offshore the eastern USA coast, passing over silbo..
Figure 4.- Vertical profile of Temperature (RU16 and silbo).
GO SILBO !!!
Force and honor to all
Antonio Ramos & Nilsen Strandskov