Jay Clemens
Iridium Communications will help Rutgers University’s Coastal Ocean Observation Lab researchers collect data from a research project across five major ocean basins through the company’s satellite network.
A team of Rutgers students and faculty will work to coordinate flights of autonomous underwater gliders worldwide with the goal of gathering undersea datasets in order to predict how oceanic health impacts global weather, Iridium said Monday.
“We’re thrilled to be associated with the project, and excited to provide connectivity via the Iridium satellite network for this endeavor,†said David Wigglesworth, vice president and general manager for Americas and global services at Iridium.
CLS America will provide the communications interface to connect the gliders with the Iridium network.
The Challenger Glider Mission will take place between 2014 and 2016, with each Teledyne Webb-Slocum glider intended to navigate the ocean gyre circulation.
The glider is built to read oceanic temperatures, salinity and currents.
