OCEANOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT USING UNDERWATER GLIDERS

REP(MUS) 21 is an annual exercise jointly organised by the Portuguese Navy, the University of Porto, NATO’s Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) and the NATO Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative. The exercise gives Allies and NATO partners a chance to field and evaluate new maritime technologies. A Rapid Environmental Assessment warfare group was formed using Maritime Unmanned Systems to perform an environmental assessment of this area, by collecting data from the upper ocean region (0- 200 m.), sea surface, littoral shallow waters, and river estuary. Underwater Gliders were used in the REPMUS21 exercise, brought by several partners, to conduct environmental observations from the underwater domain of the exercise’s Joint Operations Area (JOA). This paper focuses on the use of SeaExplorer underwater gliders to collect oceanographic data during the exercise, and the operational impact of using this knowledge to compile the Recognized Environmental Picture of the exercise area.