Engineering Research Equipment: Sensors to Advance Autonomous Underwater Vehicles as Oceanographic Research Tools

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9311151 Chryssostomidis The Underwater Vehicles Laboratory of the M.I.T. Sea Grant College Program will purchase oceanographic sensors and sensor support equipment to enable the use of existing Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) as tools for oceanographic research. Six missions have been chosen to direct this effort, including: 1) The investigation of plate tectonics and spreading centers through geomagnetic measurements off the coast of Antarctica. 2) The development of geophysical navigation methods, 3) The creation of a rapid-response AUV to investigate transient ocean events, 4) The use of AUV development as a method of enhancing engineering education, 5) The development of methodologies for applying AUVs to study of shallow-water environments, and 6) The study of the mechanics of Arctic ice. The high operating cost of research vessels constrains oceanic research. AUVs increasing the search rate of the ocean floor, greatly increasing the efficiency of the time spent at sea.