ABSTRACT

A prototype of a 3000m-class underwater glider for virtual mooring is being developed by JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology) with RIAM (the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics) of Kyushu University. The vehicle houses various pieces of observation equipment and glides back and forth between the sea surface and the seabed collecting ocean data in a specific area (virtual mooring area) for more than one year at a time. A prototype glider "Tsukuyomi" has been built, and we successfully conducted tank-tests in December 2011.

This paper summarizes the design concept and an outline of the glider and shows the results of the gliding tests in the towing tank.

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