Understanding the mechanisms by which climate variability affects multiple trophic levels in food webs is essential for determining ecosystem responses to climate change. Here we use over two decades of data collected by the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research program (PAL-LTER) to determine how large-scale climate and local physical forcing affect phytoplankton, zooplankton and an apex predator along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). We show that positive anomalies in chlorophyll-a (chl-a) at Palmer Station, occurring every 4–6 years, are constrained by physical processes in the preceding winter/spring and a negative phase of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). Favorable conditions for phytoplankton included increased winter ice extent and duration, reduced spring/summer winds, and increased water column stability via enhanced salinity-driven density gradients. Years of positive chl-a anomalies are associated with the initiation of a robust krill cohort the following summer, which is evident in Adélie penguin diets, thus demonstrating tight trophic coupling. Projected climate change in this region may have a significant, negative impact on phytoplankton biomass, krill recruitment and upper trophic level predators in this coastal Antarctic ecosystem.

The OceanGliders program started in 2016 to support active coordination and enhancement of global glider activity. OceanGliders contributes to the international efforts of the Global Ocean Observation System (GOOS) for Climate, Ocean Health, and Operational Services. It brings together marine scientists and engineers operating gliders around the world: (1) to observe the long-term physical, biogeochemical, and biological ocean processes and phenomena that are relevant for societal applications; and, (2) to contribute to the GOOS through real-time and delayed mode data dissemination. The OceanGliders program is distributed across national and regional observing systems and significantly contributes to integrated, multi-scale and multi-platform sampling strategies. OceanGliders shares best practices, requirements, and scientific knowledge needed for glider operations, data collection and analysis. It also monitors global glider activity and supports the dissemination of glider data through regional and global databases, in real-time and delayed modes, facilitating data access to the wider community. OceanGliders currently supports national, regional and global initiatives to maintain and expand the capabilities and application of gliders to meet key global challenges such as improved measurement of ocean boundary currents, water transformation and storm forecast.

Hurricane-intensity forecast improvements currently lag the progress achieved for hurricane tracks. Integrated ocean observations and simulations during hurricane Irene (2011) reveal that the wind-forced two-layer circulation of the stratified coastal ocean, and resultant shear-induced mixing, led to significant and rapid ahead-of-eye-centre cooling (at least 6 °C and up to 11 °C) over a wide swath of the continental shelf. Atmospheric simulations establish this cooling as the missing contribution required to reproduce Irene’s accelerated intensity reduction. Historical buoys from 1985 to 2015 show that ahead-of-eye-centre cooling occurred beneath all 11 tropical cyclones that traversed the Mid-Atlantic Bight continental shelf during stratified summer conditions. A Yellow Sea buoy similarly revealed significant and rapid ahead-of-eye-centre cooling during Typhoon Muifa (2011). These findings establish that including realistic coastal baroclinic processes in forecasts of storm intensity and impacts will be increasingly critical to mid-latitude population centres as sea levels rise and tropical cyclone maximum intensities migrate poleward.

Regional sediment resuspension and transport are examined as Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the Mid‐Atlantic Bight (MAB) in October 2012. A Teledyne‐Webb Slocum glider, equipped with a Nortek Aquadopp current profiler, was deployed on the continental shelf ahead of the storm, and is used to validate sediment transport routines coupled to the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). The glider was deployed on 25 October, 5 days before Sandy made landfall in southern New Jersey (NJ) and flew along the 40 m isobath south of the Hudson Shelf Valley. We used optical and acoustic backscatter to compare with two modeled size classes along the glider track, 0.1 and 0.4 mm sand, respectively. Observations and modeling revealed full water column resuspension for both size classes for over 24 h during peak waves and currents, with transport oriented along‐shelf toward the southwest. Regional model predictions showed over 3 cm of sediment eroded on the northern portion of the NJ shelf where waves and currents were the highest. As the storm passed and winds reversed from onshore to offshore on the southern portion of the domain waves and subsequently orbital velocities necessary for resuspension were reduced leading to over 3 cm of deposition across the entire shelf, just north of Delaware Bay. This study highlights the utility of gliders as a new asset in support of the development and verification of regional sediment resuspension and transport models, particularly during large tropical and extratropical cyclones when in situ data sets are not readily available.