Uncrewed Surface Vehicle to Map Pacific Seafloor
Woolpert and Saildrone have partnered to deploy an uncrewed surface vehicle for a NOAA seafloor mapping project off the coast of the Mariana Islands. The Surveyor USV will collect data across 13,000 square nautical miles in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The mission aims to improve understanding of marine habitats, geohazards, and oceanographic conditions.
- The 22-meter (72-foot) Saildrone Surveyor is a long-endurance USV primarily powered by wind and solar energy, with a high-efficiency diesel engine for auxiliary power. This hybrid propulsion system allows for missions lasting over nine months. - Its sensor suite includes Kongsberg EM 304 and EM 2040 multibeam echosounders, enabling it to map the seafloor from less than 400 meters to depths of 7,000 meters. Data quality from the Surveyor is considered as good as that from traditional survey ships, partly due to the vehicle's quiet, wind-powered operation. - For navigation and situational awareness, the USV employs a sophisticated array of sensors including radar, EO/IR cameras, and passive acoustics; it uses machine learning-based detection for objects at sea. Onboard data processing is performed, and it utilizes Starlink for satellite communications. - This mission is part of a larger U.S. national strategy to map its entire Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), a goal set to be completed by 2040 for nearshore waters and 2030 for deep water. As of 2018, only 43% of U.S. waters were considered minimally mapped. - The project also contributes to the international Seabed 2030 initiative, which aims to produce a definitive map of the entire world's ocean floor. Globally, more than 75% of the ocean remains unmapped by modern standards. - Some areas within the Mariana Archipelago have not been surveyed in over 80 years, if at all. The data collected will update nautical charts, improve maritime safety, and help characterize the seabed for a better understanding of marine habitats and ecosystems.
