Multidisciplinary Ocean Science Applications of an AUV: The Autosub Science Missions Programme AUTOS UBS CI E NCE AN D E NG INEE RI NG TEAM S

In December 1995 a group of marine scientists and technologists met to define the scope of a thematic programme proposal that would use Autosub to demonstrate the utility of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for ocean science. Further, the programme would aim to tackle questions that could only be answered using the unique features of such a vehicle. The ideas were presented at an open forum of the UK marine science community in May 1996. After incorporating the views raised at the forum, a proposal was submitted to the Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) Marine Science and Technology Board in June 1996. The £5 m proposal was ambitious in its aims. It foresaw applications covering hundreds of kilometers in the open ocean, work in icecovered areas, terrain-following missions with a host of sensors for physical, geophysical, biological and chemical oceanography. At the time the proposal for the Autosub Science Missions programme was submitted the longest mission achieved by the vehicle was some 300 m; the deepest depth achieved was some 9m. Autosub had only been tested in Empress Dock, Southampton.