Seaglider sets new underwater endurance and range records A University of Washington Seaglider operated for 9 months and 5 days in the Pacific Ocean, an endurance record more than double what any other autonomous underwater vehicle has accomplished on a single mission. During that time it propelled itself more than 4,900 kilometres through the water of the Northeast Pacific racking up a distance equivalent to crossing the Atlantic Ocean from New England to Europe. Records set include time at sea and distance travelled under its own power.
The University of Washington has surpassed its 2-year-old world record for operating a glider under the ice, this time by successfully operating one of its seagliders for six months as it made round trips hundreds of miles in length under the ice at Davis Strait. The result contributes to the longest continuous measurement of fresh water exiting the Arctic through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Davis Strait and into the Labrador Sea.