Gliders in the Gulf of Mexico Building towards an operational and integrated observing system in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) is being built as a sustained, end-to-end integrated and operational System of Systems designed to provide data and products to diverse stakeholders. The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association (GCOOS-RA) is bringing together academic groups, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to plan and implement the GCOOS Build-Out Plan. The development of a GCOOS Gulf Glider Plan started in 2010, and was incorporated into the Gulf Build-Out Plan, which was released in 2011. A GCOOS Gulf Glider Task Team (GGTT) was established in 2012 by GCOOS-RA. The GGTT was constituted in April 2013 and charged to engage Gulf gliders stakeholders and to revise and further develop conceptual plans for Gulf glider operations in the GCOOS Build-out Plan. This paper will discus the progress of the GGTT, pilot projects involving gliders, and glider operations supported by the GCOOS-RA and its partners. Plans for future pilot projects and activities building toward a phased implementation of the glider network, its associated infrastructure, and product development to address the needs of Gulf stakeholders will be presented. GGTT activities, particularly as related to revisions to the GCOOS Build-Out Plan in light of recent events and expected future monitoring of Gulf ecological and economic resources, will be summarized.