Severn Marine Technologies (Annapolis, MD) and Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) (La Jolla, CA) recently completed a 135-day mission where the Spray Glider was coated with the ClearSignal Biofouling control system. Half of the glider was coated with ClearSignal in order to qualify the coating for much larger scale use on the Spray Glider. The coated qualification occurred during a normally scheduled science mission in Monterey Bay for gathering oceanographic data. The results showed the ClearSignal coating to be highly effective in controlling the growth of biofouling on the glider. There was no biofouling accumulation on the coated sections while the uncoated sections showed moderate to high biofouling. The coating showed no signs of wear and is designed to last for the life of the glider. As a result of its success SIO will be coating multiple Spray Gliders with the ClearSignal Biofouling Control System.
