Progress on the use of autonomous underwater vehicles to study estuaries

• DOI: 10.1121/1.5035636
• Publication Date: 2018-04-17T19:44:13Z
• Authors: Craig L. McNeil; Andrey Shcherbina; Marcia J. Isakson; Autumn N. Kidwell; D. Benjamin Reeder; Andone C. Lavery; W Rockwell Geyer
• Keywords: 13. Climate action; 0103 physical sciences; 14. Life underwater; 01 natural sciences

Estuaries are a challenging environment to use acoustically navigated Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) due highly variable currents, relatively shallow and bathymetry, large buoyancy changes, suspended sediments, marine biota, bubble plumes. The benefit using AUVs is their ability perform repeat automated surveys targeted sampling of features either remote control or on-board redirects. Our REMUS 100 equipped with up/down looking ADCPs, CTDs, optical backscatter sensors. Long Base Line (LBL) underwater navigation, up four transponders, were recently carry broadband hydrophones. We will share our experience operating these in several estuaries characterize variability acoustical associated estuarine interest (fronts, river plume, the salt-wedge). discuss how negatively impact AUV via, for example, degraded communications bottom tracking. also present some examples concurrent by an advanced sonar (static mobile) demonstrating potential research 4D visualization interest. [This work was supported Office Naval Research.]