Deep Ocean Surveying with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

D.R. Yoerger and J.C. Kinsey. Journal of Ocean Technology. IV(1):50-65, 2009.

This paper reviews deep ocean science operations conducted by the Autonomous Benthic Explorer (ABE), an AUV built and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). ABE’s operational accomplishments to-date are summarized and a previously unreported survey – the mapping of deepwater corals and their habitats using multibeam sonar and a digital still camera – is discussed. The operations reviewed are representative of the variety of oceanographic surveys currently conducted by deep-ocean AUVs. As with most AUV deployments, these results involve the use of a single AUV to achieve the prescribed survey tasks. The second part of this paper discusses the extension of the single vehicle operations to the simultaneous operation of multiple AUVs. Based on the technologies and operational procedures developed during single-vehicle operations, we present two potential operating strategies and show the resulting improvements in overall survey productivity.