WHOI-NOAA collaboration aims to protect endangered species from lethal ship strikes and noise from offshore wind construction.

The yellow glider sits quietly on its sled during the five-hour voyage from Woods Hole, Mass. to the outer New England continental shelf. When the R/V Tioga arrives at an appointed latitude, WHOI biologist Mark Baumgartner wheels the sled to the back of the ship, and without much fanfare, slides the torpedo-like autonomous underwater vehicle into the depths. It’s soon out of sight, but not out of mind. Over the next few months, the glider will act as Baumgartner’s ears in the ocean, alerting him every two hours to the presence of marine mammals in its midst.