Enabling Shallow Water Flight on Slocum Gliders

Chip Haldeman, David Aragon, Hugh Roarty, Scott Glenn, and Josh Kohut

Rutgers University

Blue - < 9 m

Autonomous Platforms

Very broad…includes a wide variety of applications

In our field:Autonomous Platforms

Wave GliderREMUS

Seaglider

APEX Floats

Spray Glider

Autonomous Platforms – buoyancy driven

Slocum glider – only shallow water capable glider

Shallow water pump (4-30 m water depth)

Shallow Water Sampling Issues

“Dredging”

“Bottom Sampling”

UD_275 “OTIS”

RU28

Pressure

Measured water depth

Pressure + raw altitude

Shallow Water Sampling Issues

Why is this bad?

1. Data quality

– affects vertical and spatial resolution. Glider is still sampling, so there is plenty of data, but not where you want it.

2. Platform Risk

-- Sediment buildup in nosecone results in loss of buoyancy. Can’t float, can’t fly. Ejection weight?

-- Sediment in nosecone grinds between pump and diaphragm, causing leak and ending mission…or loss of the platform.

*Tip - Plug the nosecone for shallow coastal flights

• This leaves a short window to obtain a hit during about 3 cycles or 12 seconds. Altimeter produces a hit every ~2 cycles.

OBTAINING HITS IN VERY SHALLOW WATER

REJECTED REJECTEDACCEPTED...

but 2 hits are required

Considered “on surface” or “too soon after inflection”

Too close to bottom (below minimum altimeter value)

• Altimeter filter: m_water_depth [n] = m_depth [n] + m_raw_altitude [n-1]Normally adds ~ 1 m to glider’s water depth calculation

Pitch angle depth correction

ALTIMETRY: TAKING GROUND TRUTHING LITERALLY

Glider’s water depth = altitude (filtered) + glider

depth

Water depth = altitude + glider depth

Actual water depth corrected for pitch

• Actual depth is 21 m according to pitch corrected pressure sensor• Non-filtered pings show depth at about .3 m shallower, filtered pings show depth about 1.2 m deeper• In this example our altimeter, with the filter, is creating depths about 1.2 m deeper than actual.

ALTIMETRY: FINDING THE WRONG BOTTOM

As glider approaches bottom, hits below u_min_altimeter setting are rejected, but surface reflections are seen and accepted as “good”…so glider attempts to descend through ~10 m of sediment

10 m

10 m

SURFACE REFLECTIONS

REJECTED

“on surface/not diving” or hasn’t met “post-inflection time” requirements. Hits considered “good”, but rejected

ACCEPTED

How do we fix it?

Software solution, developed and tested at Rutgers, modifies default deepwater flight settings to enable shallow water flight. Confident of flight in 8 m of water…possibly as shallow as 6 m.

-- Obtaining valid altimetry in very shallow water - several default settings modified to allow more altimetry through

-- To avoid reflections, limit range of altimeter to less than water depth.

Shallow Water Sampling Issues

Pushing the envelope – very shallow water (6-7 m) flight

• 1-2 bottom solutions per dive; approx. 9 cycles or ~ 30 seconds• Flight in depths shallower than above will likely require a change in flight

characteristics (pitch angle, pump throw, H stability) to slow flight and allow more valid altimetry. How do we address altimetry reflection issue?

•Slocum gliders are capable of flight in shallow water, 4-30 m

•Software fix modifies deepwater flight settings to enable shallow water flight

•Bottom impacts and data degradation avoided

### alt.mi Shallow water (<15 m) altimetry coefficients### David Aragon, Chip Haldeman, Rutgers University ### Account for shallow water; need enough good hitssensor: u_reqd_depth_at_surface(m) 2sensor: u_alt_min_post_inflection_time(sec) 4.0 sensor: u_alt_min_depth(m) 1.0sensor: u_min_altimeter(m) 1.5 ### Set this to less than actual water depth to avoid reflectionssensor: u_max_altimeter(m) 6.0 ### Reduces filtered altimetrysensor: u_alt_reqd_good_in_a_row(nodim) 1sensor: u_alt_filter_enabled(bool) 0sensor: u_alt_reduced_usage_mode(bool) 0 ### Avoids bug in code; likely fixed but untested...sensor: m_altitude_rate(m/s) -1sensor: u_sound_speed(m/s) 1510.0 ### Keeps previous depth if new one not attained (2 yos)sensor: u_max_water_depth_lifetime(yos) 2### Attempts to limit max slope of bottom (use cautiously)sensor: u_max_bottom_slope(m/m) 3.0 ### Set this to get around false hits at depth, but use caution!!!sensor: u_min_water_depth(m) 0 sensor: u_max_water_depth(m) 2000

alt.mi