WATER / WASTEWATER World-first underwater autonomous glider to circumnavigate the globe


In a world-first for marine science and technology, Teledyne Marine in collaboration with Rutgers University-New Brunswick, will conduct a pioneering mission to circumnavigate the globe with an autonomous underwater glider.


Using Teledyne’s ‘Redwing’, the most advanced commercial subsea glider ever developed, the near five-year Sentinel Mission departs on 10 October 2025 following a ceremony at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), which operates the second largest glider fleet in the world.


Launched from the edge of the continental shelf south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, the next generation Slocum Sentinel Glider will gather unparalleled levels of data on ocean currents, sea temperature and their impact on weather systems and the planet. This data will help refine weather models and improve hurricane intensity forecasting. The data will also help to inform ocean policy and conservation efforts.


“This is a truly historic mission,” said Brian Maguire, COO at Teledyne Marine. “It will pave the way for a future where a global fleet of autonomous underwater gliders will be able to continuously sample our oceans. These gliders will deliver early warnings of extreme weather and will track the impact of shifting ocean currents so that we can refine long-term weather projections in a way that scientists have dreamed of for decades.


“It will also prove that long-range, next-generation, low energy autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are capable of carrying more complex, heavier, and increasingly energy hungry sensors on missions that we could only have imagined previously.”


The culmination of a vision first imagined by glider inventor Doug Webb - who pioneered autonomous ocean vehicles at Teledyne Webb Research - the Sentinel Mission serves as both a tribute to Webb, who passed away in 2024 at the age of 94, and a response to the urgent need for global ocean monitoring.


Specially built for the mission ‘Redwing’ - an acronym for Research & Education Doug Webb Inter-National Glider - will surf global ocean currents on its epic mission gathering critical ocean data from under-sampled, remote regions of the globe.


Redwing’s first leg will see it ride the Gulf Stream south of Martha’s Vineyard toward Europe, before sweeping south to stop at Gran Canaria off the coast of North West Africa. Its next leg will take it to Cape town in South Africa, before crossing the Indian Ocean to stop at Perth in Western Australia, then on to Wellington, New Zealand. It will then navigate the Antarctic Circumpolar Current - the most powerful current on Earth - taking it on its longest leg to the Falkland Islands. From here there will


be possible stops in Brazil and the Caribbean before heading back to Cape Cod in the U.S.


Transmitting information via satellite when it surfaces every 8-12 hours, Redwing will share vital data on ocean temperature, salinity, currents, and ocean health via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) global monitoring system. This will ensure that scientists, oceanographers, meteorologists, universities, and even schools worldwide will be able to access real-time results internationally, building interest in the mission.


The Sentinel Redwing is a new class of sea glider, purpose- designed for ultra-long missions across some of the harshest seas on Earth. Specially engineered with extended battery capacity and additional sensor capability, it can travel up to 15,000 kilometres on a single leg.


Redwing will dive to depths of 1,000 metres before returning to the surface to transmit data every 8-12 hours. Using only gravity and buoyancy for propulsion, it flies in a sawtooth pattern through the water, conserving energy for years-long deployments.


Redwing’s carbon fibre hull flexes under pressure, compressing slightly during descent, while its buoyancy is adjusted via an oil pump and pitch battery system. This ingenious design allows Redwing to ‘surf’ rather than fight ocean currents, travelling at an average speed of 0.75-1 knots as it efficiently propels its way forward, enabling it to travel vast distances, staying deployed for longer.


At 2.57m long and 0.33m in diameter, Redwing carries a payload of up to 3.5kg, including CTD sensor (conductivity, temperature, depth/ density); altimeter to avoid the seafloor; attitude and compass sensors for navigation; and a fish monitor from Dalhousie University, tracking tagged marine life such as sharks and whales.


Shea Quinn, Sentinel Mission Project Lead and Slocum Glider Product Line Manager, explained: “As we travel through the layers of the ocean, which move over and under each other in different directions, we’ll gather data on water temperature and density, and we’ll pick up pings from tagged marine life. We’ll be able to see what’s happening at the surface and deeper underwater where huge patches of cold water and warm water move. This data will help us to show, for example, where a hurricane is going to go next and how intense it’s going to be. We’ll also build a better knowledge about the impact of ocean currents on our weather patterns, informing global ocean models of the future, and our understanding of long-term climate change.”


Supported by partners from Spain, Gran Canaria, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, the UK, and the U.S, the mission is a truly international undertaking.


Teledyne Marine engineers will work closely with more than 50 Rutgers University students at the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (COOL), who have helped programme the navigation software that will guide Redwing across the oceans. Together, they will track Redwing from their shared mission control bases and will keep it on its flight path, making necessary adjustments each time it surfaces throughout the 73,000km journey.


“This is a pivotal moment for ocean science,” said Scott Glenn, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers. “We’re deploying an autonomous glider that will travel the world’s oceans, gathering data. And we’re doing it with students, educators and international collaborators every step of the way.”


Oscar Schofield, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers, added: “There’s no doubt in my mind that this mission will not only shape our understanding of the oceans and their impact on the climate in a new way, but it will also change the future of autonomous ocean exploration.


“Fittingly, it will also realise a piece of science-fiction written by Henry Strommel of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that appeared in Oceanography Magazine in 1989. This foresaw an international race between three Slocumb Sentinel gliders to circumnavigate the globe first, and a time when there would be a fleet of underwater gliders taking part in missions around the world,” he concluded.


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EMAIL: Mount Fuji’s hidden waters


bNovate’s BactoSense analysers are giving scientists live insight into Mount Fuji’s vast volcanic aquifer, helping secure safe drinking water and industrial supply in one of Japan’s most seismic regions.


Annually, 2.2 billion tons of rain and snowfall seep through the multi-layered lava gaps of this emblematic stratovolcano to become clean springs and well water.


A team led by Professor Dr Oliver Schilling, an Assistant Professor of Hydrogeology at the University of Basel, has been combining advanced tracer science with sophisticated mathematical models to understand the complex hydrogeology of the volcanic groundwater system. Changes in the microbial composition of the drinking water well are now continuously monitored with BactoSense.


For the great many people who rely on the source of Mount Fuji’s water, including numerous industries, Professor Schilling (together with Dr Stephanie Musy, Dr Yama Tomonaga & PhD student Friederike Currle) is working hard to understand the evolution and behaviour of the aquifer in the region to ensure its safeguarding.


Co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, BactoSense is helping provide key answers, as Professor Schilling explains:


“The water quality issues at Mount Fuji are not as much a question of hygiene, but of agricultural and industrial pollution, and the steadily declining water levels in certain areas within the catchment,” he said.


“Nonetheless, due to the intense seismic activity in the region


and the increased frequency of torrential rainfall events, monitoring of the microbial load with BactoSense’s online flow cytometry will undoubtedly become a pivotal technology to guarantee the safety of drinking water in the Fuji catchment.”


In the team’s first study, they searched for patterns that could demonstrate whether there was a significant contribution of: groundwater from more than 100-metre-depth; confined aquifer to the shallow; and unconfined groundwater and springs at the southwestern foot of Mount Fuji.


For this, they combined several different tracer techniques, namely the analysis of helium isotopes (to identify deep water enriched with mantle gases), vanadium (to identify deep water with its long and deep flow path), and microbial eDNA (Extracellular DNA) to identify extremophile microbes adapted to life at considerable depths/pressures.


With these measurements, they could identify springs and shallow wells that received substantial deep groundwater inflow. Some of the wells most affected by deep groundwater were the larger wells used for drinking water.


Professor Schilling added: “As this is one of Japan’s most active seismic regions, we expect seasonal variations in deep groundwater upwelling and changes associated with seismic events such as earthquakes. For this purpose, we employ online flow cytometry alongside online dissolved (noble) gas measurements.


“We continuously monitor the changes in the microbial composition in the drinking water well with BactoSense. We also conduct repeated spatial measurement campaigns where we


sample different springs and wells for many hydrological tracers, including microbial eDNA. The eDNA samples are then analysed on BactoSense via next-generation sequencing to match the flow cytometry fingerprints to metagenomic/ phylogenetic information.”


He continued: “So far, we have had a great experience with BactoSense. It is robust and transportable. With BactoSense’s continuous microbial monitoring, the team can detect deep groundwater pulses after earthquakes.


“We particularly like the ability to control the instrument remotely. It was set up in the drinking water well house within one day of work and has been running smoothly ever since. It is a good model for other volcanic islands and coastal volcanic regions. Such systems are still seldom studied in hydrogeological terms. Our findings will help to develop monitoring techniques and protocols critical for sustainable and resilient drinking water management in volcanic areas. The project shows how real-time microbial insight can protect critical water sources in complex geology worldwide,” he concluded.


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10 | AET NOVEMBER 2025 | ENVIROTECH-ONLINE.COM


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