The National Glider Facility (GNF) is held by DT-INSU. It is installed inside the Mediterranean Ifremer center and is part of the CETSM (European Centre of underwater technologies). GNF started in September 2008. It is manned by 3 engineers and 1 technician and operates 10 gliders. The facility is fully equipped with: a glider ballasting tank, an electronic lab for pre-deployment preparation, servers and communications devices for glider operations. It is linked to the ego-network.org web page offering a collaborative work environment and tools for piloting gliders. The following sensors can be mounted on the gliders: CTD, Oxygen Optode, Fluorimeters (ChlA, CDOM, Phycoerythrine, turbidity), Back scattering (470-880 nm).

ISMAR OS is a system around Italy and is composed by 11 fixed platforms, HF radars, a glider. The installations proposed for TNA embrace different marine environments and can be used independently. SiCO is a twin-mooring system placed is in a key area connecting the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Sea. Equipped with current profilers and CTD probes, it continuously monitor surface and intermediate exchange of water masses and properties between the basins. A pCO2 probe is installed in SiCO1 near the bottom to widen the contribution of the observatory to climate studies and ocean acidification research. The site is part of the CIESM Hydro-Changes Programme.

OBSEA is an underwater cabled observatory connected with 4 km of cable to the coast of Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona, Spain) and placed at a depth of 20m in a fishing protected area. Operations are done by scuba divers and small boats. A surface buoy located at 40m from the underwater unit is an extension of OBSEA working as surface platform for measuring oceanographic and environmental parameters. A Shore Station provides power (3.6kW) to feed all the devices and the fiber optic link (1Gbps) to establish communications. At the same time from land we manage alarms and data storage. With a length of 1000 meters the terrestrial cable connects the Ground Station to the Beach Manhole where the submarine cable begins its route to the node location at 4 km from the coast and 20 m depth. OBSEA has nowadays two junction boxes with a total of 16 underwater webmate connectors.

The SOCIB Glider Facility is an example of new technologies being progressively implemented in coastal to open ocean regions allowing autonomous and sustained high-resolution monitoring of specific areas. SOCIB-GF is fully operational in JERICO-NEXT and since 2006 has accomplished 64 missions, 1.244 days in water, 14.555 nm navigated with 39.378 vertical profiles collected. SOCIB-GF human team is composed out of 2 full-time engineers, 1 full-time technician, 2 part-time field-technicians (for at sea operations), 2 part time engineers (for glider data management) and 2 part-time experienced scientists. An intense and fruitful collaboration with IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) team also exists since the origin of glider operations. The fleet in 2016 consists of 7 Slocum gliders and 2 iRobot Seagliders, equipped for collecting both physical (T, S) and biogeochemical data (fluorescence, oxygen, etc.) at high spatial resolutions (2km). SOCIB-GF includes a pressure chamber (1.000 m) as well as ballasting and operations labs. It also has access to other SOCIB facilities such as (1) ETD (Engineering & Technology Development): Hurricane Zodiac 9.2 m RIB, Lab-Van and harbour warehouse; (2) SOCIB-R/V: a 24 m coastal catamaran and (3) Data Center: including data management, public repository, on-line web-based platform tracker -for mission monitoring- and development of tools such as the glider processing toolbox (Troupin et al., Methods in Oceanog., 2015, - freely available scripts available at https://github.com/socib/glider_toolbox).

Socib Glider

Socib Glider

Socib Glider

The seabed cabled observatory EMSO-Molène was deployed off shore 2 km north of Molène in the marine protected area “Iroise Marine Park”. MOLENE is an EMSO testing site at depth 18 meters, dedicated to sensors and equipment in-situ and long-term qualification. The instrumental module is a removable device that includes the electronic core of the observatory: the “Node” and the “Junction Box”. The Node inputs an optical signal and converts it into electrical. On the node output, the Junction Box relays instructions, collects data, protects the equipment in case of electrical malfunction and provides failure warnings. Remote control of the instruments and data recovery. Network throughput: 1 Gbit/s between the sensors and the relay station, restricted between the island and Brest. A land-based server transmits data to the subscriber. Data time stamping: GPS clock, NTP/PTP Network, Network Attached Storage. Available for the instruments: 6 identical inputs (Subconn MCBH12M, Micro Bulkhead, 12 contacts), voltage: 15V and 48V, power supplied for the 6 connections: 75 W under 15V and 75W under 48V. Seawater physico-chemical measurements are performed by the platforms on the site (high frequency sampling).

Socib Glider

Socib Glider