Rutgers University and Teledyne Webb Research have partnered for the Sentinel Mission, an unprecedented initiative that will see Teledyne’s Slocum Sentinel Glider, “Redwing” (Research & Education Doug Webb Inter-National Glider) undergo a historic circumnavigation of the global ocean. The Sentinel Mission will launch this summer to contribute to our understanding of the oceans and demonstrate the power of academic-industry partnerships.
The mission also involves NOAA, the Marine Technology Society and the UN Ocean Decade.
The Redwing glider pays homage to Doug Webb, a pioneer of autonomous underwater technology.
This mission will be anchored by undergraduate students from around the world. The goal is to ensure a new generation of ocean leaders takes responsibility for the stewardship of the ocean, which is exhibiting accelerating change.
As a general rule, a global circumnavigation must cover roughly a great circle that passes through at least one pair of antipodal points. For around-the-world sailing records, there is a rule that the length must be at least 21,600 nautical mi., calculated along the shortest possible track from the starting port and back that does not cross land and does not go below 63° S. It is allowed to have one single waypoint to lengthen the calculated track, and the equator must be crossed.
Original article at Sea-Technology.com
