Ocean-Atmosphere Observations from Uncrewed Saildrones and Gliders during the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season

During the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, uncrewed systems were used in a coordinated effort to measure the upper ocean and air-sea interface inside and outside of tropical cyclones. The main objectives were to advance understanding of air-sea interactions in and around tropical cyclones and aid forecaster situational awareness, with the ultimate goal of improving tropical cyclone intensity forecasts. The uncrewed systems included 11 saildrones, five of which coordinated with eight underwater gliders that operated in the western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. One of the saildrones was positioned near Barbados for two weeks in August to coordinate with the Moisture and Aerosol Gradients/Physics of Inversion Evolution (MAGPIE) field campaign. This presentation gives an overview of the 2023 effort and the data acquired, discusses challenges and lessons learned, and looks toward the future of uncrewed systems observations in tropical cyclones.