Deep sea underwater robotic exploration in the ice-covered Arctic ocean with AUVs

Abstract

Abstract-The Arctic seafloor remains one of the last unexplored areas on Earth. Exploration of this unique environment using standard remotely operated oceanographic tools has been obstructed by the dense Arctic ice cover. In the summer of 2007 the Arctic Gakkel Vents Expedition (AGAVE) was conducted with the express intention of understanding aspects of the marine biology, chemistry and geology associated with hydrothermal venting on the section of the mid-ocean ridge known as the Gakkel Ridge.Unlike previous research expeditions to the Arctic the focus was on high resolution imaging and sampling of the deep seafloor. To accomplish our goals we designed two new Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) named Jaguar and Puma, which performed a total of nine dives at depths of up to 4062m. These AUVs were used in combination with a towed vehicle and a conventional CTD (conductivity, temperature and depth) program to characterize the seafloor. This paper describes the design decisions and operational changes required to ensure useful service, and facilitate deployment, operation, and recovery in the unique Arctic environment.

AUV Benthic Habitat Mapping in South Eastern Tasmania

“…The AUV SeaBED [14] is primarily an optical imaging AUV, used in a diverse range of oceanographic cruises including coral reef characterization [13] and surveys of ground fish populations [1]. Recently, the related AUVs Puma and Jaguar searched for hydrothermal vents under the artic ice [7]. Other AUV systems have been used to explore biophysical coupling, including mapping harmful algal blooms [11] and characterising up-welling around canyons [12].…”

Variable buoyancy system metric

“…In many modern AUVs, propulsion can use up to half the energy onboard [11]. Chosing to reduce risk and complication, many vehicles drive to and from depth, and operate positively buoyant at depth [2], [11], [6].…”

“…To maintain a slightly positive buoyancy at working depth, survey vehicles require a pre-dive buoyancy and trim adjustment to match the mission environment [11], [6]. This procedure could be eliminated for a vehicle with a self regulating system; reducing ship time, man power, and guesswork.…”

Navigating Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

“…Now the needs of new users are necessitating adaptation of AUV technologies to a variety of interesting and challenging underwater environments. Underice missions promise to open the important polar regions to the observational power of autonomous platforms (Kunz, et al, 2008) (McEwen, Thomas, Weber, & Psota, 2005). Obviously navigation under-ice is very important to the safety of such mission; the AUV must be able to return a safe region for recovery.…”