The fleet of autonomous ocean-vehicles of the Canary Islands Oceanic Platform (PLOCAN) has carried out various scientific, technical and training missions in 2024, totaling 133 days of sea-operations, with a navigation record of approximately 1.800 nautical miles, highlighting operations conducted in the waters of the Azores and Lisbon, and across the North and South shore of the Canary Archipelago with special relevance in Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Palma island.
The missions have been coordinated from the Underwater Vehicles, Instruments and Machines (VIMAS) area in eleven main operations that have allowed the gather of nearly two-million data related to physical and biogeochemical essential ocean and climate variables, through the operation of six different technologies for both water column profiling and surface monitoring: Seaglider, Slocum, AutoNaut, SeaExplorer, WaveGlider and Sailbuoy.
The operations of PLOCAN’s fleet of autonomous ocean-vehicles have covered local, national and international areas in response to initiatives and requests from infrastructure’s users with needs for observing the marine environment through state-of-the-art unmanned mobile devices, based on its performance in safety, reliability and environmental sustainability.
The activities carried out have enabled a cooperation with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, sharing operational and logistical resources based on specific needs raised. In particular, the activity in the PLOCAN Integrated Observatory and surrounding areas in 2024 has involved undertaking scientific-technical missions of diverse nature and scope within the framework of international programs and projects (Pure Wind, GROOM-RI, DELTA, Atlantic Whale Deal, ESTOC-EMSO Ocean Time Series Station, TechOceans y Mission Atlantic), in some cases of special relevance and uniqueness, consequence of the integration of new state-of-the-art sensors for validation in real operational environments.
Among the scientific missions carried out, transnational accesses higlights within the framework of the FLUCARO, GLICARO, Mission Atlantic and JERICO projects, in response to requests from the Institute of Oceanography and Global Change (IOCAG) of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute (IH) and the Center for Marine Sciences and Technologies (MARUM) of the University of Bremen (UB), among others.
PLOCAN, as gliderport infrastructure, is member of leading European initiatives related to the Global Ocean Observing System (EuroGOOS), OceanGliders (World Glider Program of the Global Ocean Observing System, GOOS) or the European Multidisciplinary Deep-Ocean Observatory Network (EMSO).
In these European initiatives, PLOCAN contributes to the analysis and application of international protocols and standards for the operation and provision of services with autonomous ocean monitoring platforms, as well as the management and dissemination of the data gathered. In this context, the update and improvement of capabilities undertaken in 2024 through the procurement for a new science-payload units intended to cover specific observing needs through its specific configuration of meteorological, biogeochemical and acoustic sensors.
PLOCAN’s leadership in coordinating the European Glider Task Team within the framework of the EuroGOOS initiative has continued throughout the 2023 year. At the national level, PLOCAN continues to contribute to two leading working groups: the one on uncrewed navigation led by the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine (DGMM), and the Spanish Committee of Ocean-glider Operators acting as coordinator in partnership with AZTI, SOCIB, IEO/CSIC and ULPGC.
XIV Glider School edition
The VIMAS area organized the 14th edition of the Glider School, a highly specialized training initiative promoted by PLOCAN since 2011, and which brought together students and collaborators from sixteen countries from four continents, together with the main global manufacturers of commercial technologies, continuing its commitment as international benchmark forum for high-level training in ocean-observing technologies.
To date, the Glider School has trained 221 students from 38 countries (five continents), with the direct involvement of 25 companies and 21 leading institutions in the sector, which has enabled to address new synergies of diverse nature and scope in sciences, technologies and marine-maritime services at national, European and international level, which highlights once again the strategic role that Unique Scientific-Technical Infrastructures (ICTS) play within the framework of technological development and provision of operational services through their highly-specialized capabilities.
Through the VIMAS installation, during the 2024 PLOCAN has organized and/or joined 23 international and national forums related to scientific-technological topics such as robotics, uncrewed navigation, governance and management of marine observation through of research and training infrastructures, among others.
