Unmanned wave gliders are a simple, cost-effective platform for collecting ocean data

that does not rely on expensive ships or buoys.

This wave glider is propelled through the water by six underwater "wings" or fins

that convert wave energy into forward thrust.

With instrumentation and electronics powered by batteries replenished by solar panels,

the wave gliders can operate independently for hundreds of miles and many months.

This heavily instrumented wave glider measures salinity, temperature, and acidity of the ocean

as well as carbon dioxide in the surface seawater and in the air.

Similar wave gliders will be deployed off the coast of Hawaii this winter

and in the Arctic during the ice-free summertime.

The simple and easily deployed gliders are quickly becoming the future of ocean research.