In this work a new methodology is proposed to correct the thermal lag error in data from unpumped CTD sensors installed on Slocum gliders. The advantage of the new approach is twofold: first, it takes into account the variable speed of the glider; and second, it can be applied to CTD profiles from an autonomous platform either with or without a reference cast. The proposed methodology finds values for four correction parameters that minimize the area between two temperature-salinity curves given by two CTD profiles. A field experiment with a Slocum glider and a standard CTD was conducted to test the method. Thermal lag-induced salinity error of about 0.3 psu was found and successfully corrected.

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The aim of this community white paper is to make recommendations for a glider component of a global ocean observing system. We first recommend the adoption of an Argo-like data system for gliders. Then, we argue that combining glider deployments with the other components (ships, moorings, floats and satellites) will considerably enhance our capacity for observing the ocean by filling gaps left by the other observing systems. Gliders could be deployed to sample most of the western and eastern boundary circulations and the regional seas (around 20 basins in the world) which are not well covered by the present global ocean observing system and in the vicinity of fixed point time series stations. These plans already involve people scattered around the world in Australia, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, UK, and the USA, and will certainly expand to many other countries. A rough estimate of resources required is about 13M$/Euro for ~20+ gliders permanently at sea during five years in the world ocean, based on present scientific infrastructures.

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This paper describes the high-resolution Western Mediterranean Sea Operational Forecasting System (WMOP) developed at the Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (SOCIB). The system runs on a daily basis driven by high-resolution atmospheric forcing, providing 3-day forecasts of physical oceanic variables with a 2 km horizontal resolution, thus representing the ocean variability from mesoscale to basin scale from the Gibraltar Strait to the Sardinia Channel. A systematic regional monitoring and validation system has been developed using multi-platform observations, allowing the evaluation of both the overall realism of the predictions and the specific errors in each sub-basin.

This study represents a first attempt to combine new glider technology data with altimetry measurements to understand the upper ocean dynamics and vertical exchanges in areas with intense horizontal density gradients. In July 2008, just two weeks after Jason‐2 altimeter was launched, a glider mission took place along a satellite track in the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean). The mission was designed to be almost simultaneous with the satellite passage. Dynamic height from glider reveals a sharp gradient (∼15 cm) and corresponds very well with the absolute dynamic topography from Jason‐1 & Jason‐2 tandem mission (r > 0.97, rms differences < 1.6 cm). We blend both data sets (glider and altimetry) to obtain a consistent and reliable 3D dynamic height field. Using quasi‐geostrophic dynamics, we diagnose large‐scale vertical motions (∼1 m day−1) which may provide a local mechanism for the subduction of the chlorophyll tongue observed by the glider.

A low cost, automated, remote monitoring video system built on standard commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and implemented with open source software is presented. The system has been implemented in a coastal area to perform image acquisition and processing, generating statistical products and transferring the information from the fi eld to a central node where post-processing and data visualization are made available to the general public. The open structure of the software allows the user to implement new routines and modules appropriate to fi t specifi c needs as well as to adapt the system to study other dynamical processes where continuous observation is required. The software and image data base can be obtained as freeware.

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