NOAA asks industry for long-endurance UUV to profile ocean temperatures and salinity

Researchers at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are asking industry to provide a long-endurance unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to conduct ocean temperature and salinity tests.

The NOAA National Data Buoy Center at Stennis Space Center, Miss., last Friday issued a solicitation (NWWG9502-13-03082) for a profiling glider -- a long-endurance unmanned submersible able to operate over vast ocean areas for months at a time while using a minimum of electric power.

A UUV sea glider uses variable ballast to control its depth in the ocean. It works by rising to the surface, adjusts its ballast to make it sink, and then uses control surfaces to propel itself forward and maneuver, in a similar way that a glider aircraft moves through the air.

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