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Ballasting

Ballasting adjusts a glider's mass and mass distribution so that it is neutrally buoyant and correctly trimmed in the water it will actually be deployed into. It is a tank procedure, not a field one: get it wrong and the glider wastes buoyancy-drive energy fighting an unwanted heaviness or lightness for the rest of the deployment, or in a bad case can't dive or climb at all. Ballasting follows lab test and precedes deployment.

Quick Reference

Parameter Value
Typical Duration Half a day to a full day, plus an overnight tank soak
Minimum Personnel 2
Related Topics Lab Test, Deployment

Platforms

  • Seaglider

    Seaglider

    Tank procedure for estimating volmax and converting it into a lead adjustment.

    Seaglider Ballasting

  • Slocum

    Slocum

    Tank procedure, weight adjustment, tank-to-target correction, and H-moment for the Slocum glider platform.

    Slocum Ballasting