An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) was deployed from the RRS Sir David Attenborough (SDA) for the first time last week.
An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) was deployed from the RRS Sir David Attenborough (SDA) for the first time last week.
The Gavia Offshore Surveyor, named Freya, was deployed from the ship’s workboat Erebus as part of the latest phase of trials. The AUV is being tested to prepare it for mapping the seabed around Greenland as part of the ship’s first Arctic science research in 2024. The Gavia, which was previously deployed from RRS James Clark Ross, can navigate up to depths of 500m, and is used to map the seafloor, as well as collecting information about the ocean.
AUVs are robot submarines, used to explore the world’s oceans without direct control from the ship. They usually travel along a pre-programmed path to survey locations that would otherwise be impossible to reach, such as under the ice and in front of calving glaciers. RRS Sir David Attenborough is designed to act as a central platform for deploying and operating a range of state-of-the-art autonomous and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) in the polar regions. By sending submersibles to collect data, the ship can also reduce its carbon emissions.
Read more at British Antarctic Survey
Image: The Gavia Offshore Surveyor, named Freya, was deployed from the ship’s workboat Erebus as part of the latest phase of trials. (Photo: Lewis Drysdale, SAMS)
