December 5, 2021: Acoustic Release
Image courtesy of Coordinated Simultaneous Physical-Biological Sampling Using ADCP-Equipped Ocean Gliders. Download larger version (jpg, 2.9 MB).
Ever wonder how scientists recover instruments that were previously fixed to the seafloor? One way is using the device pictured here, which is called an acoustic release. This particular acoustic release was attached to the acoustic echosounder deployed during the Coordinated Simultaneous Physical-Biological Sampling Using ADCP-Equipped Ocean Gliders expedition. To recover the echosounder, scientists aboard the research vessel sent an acoustic signal to the release device, letting it know that it was time to come up. Once the signal was received, the acoustic release detached from the weight that kept the system moored to the seafloor, sending the whole system “flying” to the water’s surface.