As we head into the weekend, there is a new way point waiting to be picked up by Challenger the next time she calls in. In preparation for the next surfacing, we have moved the way point to 30˚ South, 32˚ West in an attempt to catch the southerly current shown in both the Copernicus and RTOFS forecast models as seen below:
Copernicus Averaged Currents July 31, 2015
RTOFS Averaged Currents July 31 2015
This current should propel us to the south east over the next few days during which we hope to get a good idea on if the forecasted current are matching the gliders flight path so we can use the information to make the next way point move early on next week.
Antonio has also provided us with the salinity fields from the Copernicus forecast this week which gives us an ever better picture of the eddy field 29 is on the cusp of entering
Copernicus Salinity field forecast for 540m depth
There are two things that are really cool about the eddy field we are entering, the first being that from here on out the eddies we are encountering are part of the influx into the Atlantic from the indian ocean (see below) and the second is that the cold eddy to the south has remained relatively stationary over the seamounts in that region, similar to the cabo frio eddy along the coast of Brazil that Challenger encountered on the Ascension – Brazil trek.
Copernicus Sea Surface Height Forecast July 31
Force Wind Sea & Honor