Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)—which operate without a tether or human supervision—represent an emerging technology that can be used to solve many scientific problems in the deep ocean, the last unexplored frontier on Earth. AUVs are well suited to “lawn‐mower” style geophysical surveys for mapping bathymetry, magnetic field, or water column properties. They are fast and efficient synoptic mappers and are inexpensive to operate. Manned submersibles and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) allow intensive study of an area, but can remain at a site for only a few hours, days, or weeks. AUVs can remain in an area gathering data in between submersible and ROV visits to provide information on temporal variations and can respond rapidly to events such as volcanic eruptions when large oceanographic vessels and equipment cannot be mobilized quickly.

A moderate bandwidth observatory platform has been developed that integrates acoustic and satellite links to provide connectivity between sensors on the seafloor and investigators on shore. The system incorporates high-rate (5300 bps) acoustic modems, solar power generation, a low-power single board computer running Linux, and Iridium satellite modems to provide a lower cost, relocatable alternative to higher bandwidth systems. The prototype system, which supports an ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) and fluid-flow, temperature, and resistivity sensors, has been deployed near the Nootka Fault in 2326 m of water off the coast of Vancouver Island since May 2004. Since deployment, the system has transmitted more than 150 MB of data from the seafloor instruments.