ASL Tours College of Marine Science USF Slocum Glider Laboratory

Dr. Steve Pearce and Jay Milligan of ASL Environmental Sciences recently visited Chad Lembke at the College of Marine Science laboratory at the University of South Florida (USF). This lab was the first group to integrate an ASL Acoustic Zooplankton Fish Profiler (AZFP) into a Slocum glider for oceanographic biological surveys (read Sea Technology article). Christopher DeCollibus, Product Line Manager of the Slocum Gliders of Teledyne Marine was also in attendance.

Slocum glider assembly showing the modular segments

This was an opportunity for ASL staff to meet clients face to face to discuss the technologies, work on fine-tuning and instrument interfacing and to focus on research potentials. Some of these research interests included oil detection and acoustic detection of algae blooms, a significant issue to waters in and around the State of Florida. There was time spent touring their facilities, presenting technical background and discussing ideas with USF research staff and the broader scientific community. Of the two-day visit, much of the time was spent in the lab to test, trouble-shoot and examine instrument performance. This provided an excellent learning situation for ASL to see how the AZFP and Slocum glider work together to create an effective, autonomous, low-power, calibrated sonar system for scientific use.