Introduction to oceglider

This vignette explains the basics of using the oceglider package. Please note that the package is still a work in progress, with functions evolving as the authors realize that new features might be helpful to analysts working with glider data.

The package started with code to read SeaExplorer data in what is called “raw” form. Functions are provided to work with both data telemetered back to base as the glider is en-route, and with data downloaded after it is recovered. These functions are named read.glider.seaexplorer.delayed() and read.glider.seaexplorer.realtime(), respectively.

In addition to functions for reading such data, some specialized variants of standard R functions, notably plot(), summary() and [[, were set up. These differ from similar functions in the oce package both in the sorts of plots that are offered and in handling the internal structure of the objects used in the oceglider package (e.g. with the separation of payload and glider files, for the SeaExplorer devices).

The next stage in the evolution of the package was to handle Slocum data. The functions read.glider.slocum() and read.glider.slocum.netcdf() were designed for this work, but neither has been tested recently, because the data servers being employed recently seem to store a more generic format that is handled by read.glider.netcdf().

Indeed, as of September 2024, it seems that many datasets are provided in a format that read.glider.netcdf() can read. A problem that is still unresolved, here and generally for oceanographic data, is the naming convention for variables (and units). Work is underway, both in the oceglider package and the older and more general oce package, to handle the variety of names in a more accurate manner, and in a way that lets users intercede when they know the convention being used in a particular dataset.

The oceglidercode uses datasets from Reference 1 extensively for testing and illustration. The data format in these files is assumed to reflect up-to-date standards with respect to formatting and nomenclature.

Other vignettes explain how to deal with data acquired with SeaExplorer and Slocum gliders. These are the best place to start, in learning how to use oceglider.

References

Canadian-Pacific Robotic Ocean Observing Facility (C-PROOF) data are accessible at https://cproof.uvic.ca, DOI: (available soon).

Dan Kelley (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7808-5911)

2024-09-05