Model based decision support for underwater glider operation monitoring

A decision support framework is proposed to assess the environmental impact on underwater glider operations. A nonlinear glider kinematic model with stochastic current speed as input is used to predict statistics of the glider position from the statistics of the current by the unscented transform. Application dependent risk indexes are calculated and used by glider pilots to decide mission parameter corrections in order to safely operate. Tests of the methodology and examples of application are provided based on data from an experiment in the Ligurian Sea.