Autonomous Underwater Vehicle:

Biogeochemical Research with an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle:

Payload Structure and Arctic Operations

Thorben Wulff¹, Sascha Lehmenhecker¹, Dr. Eduard Bauerfeind¹, Ulrich Hoge¹, Kimberly Shurn², Dr. Michael Klages³

1: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research 2: Bluefin Robotics Corporation

3: Sven Lovén Center for Marine Sciences

Oceans´13 MTS/IEEE Conference Bergen, June 13^th 2013

Table of contents

• The Vehicle

• Scientific Question

• The Payload

• Float Maneuver

• Results

The Vehicle

4,3

The Vehicle

4,3

PAUL: Polar Autonomous Underwater Laboratory

The Vehicle

4,3

4,3 m

53 cm

Type: Bluefin 21

Weight: 480 kg

Range: 70 km

Maximum Depth: 3000 m (currently: 600 m)

Speed: 6 – 8 km/h

The Vehicle

4,3

Tailcone

• Thruster

• MVC

• INS

Batteries

• 3 x 1,5 kWh

• CTD

Payload

• Sensors

• Sample Collector

• PCC

Nose

Scientific Question

Scientific Question

AWI´s deep sea observatory „Hausgarten“

Established in 1999 17 stations, annually visited

Image: Stefan Kühn

Image: AWI

Scientific Question

Biomass Light Temperature

Image: Jeffrey Drazen, University of Hawai'i

Ice

Image: K.U.M

Image: MBARI Image: MARUM

Image: AWI

Payload

4,3

Payload

4,3

Nitrate Sensor CO₂ Sensor

Fluorometer, CDOM

Dissolved Oxygen Sensor PAR Sensor

Sample Collector

Payload Control Computer

PCC

Fluorometer, Chlorophyll a (Not visible here)

Exchangeable Module

Pumps Sample Collector,

Water Inlet

Sample Collector, Water Outlet

Bouyancy modules

Payload

Payload

• CTD (SBE 49)

• Nitrate Sensor (Satlantic Deep Suna)

• CO2 Sensor (Contros HydroC)

• Dissolved Oxygen Sensor (SBE 43)

• Fluorometer (CDOM) (Turner Designs C7 “u”)

• Fluorometer (Chl. a) (Turner Designs C7 “c”)

• PAR Sensor (Satlantic PAR-log-s)

• Sample Collector

Float

Float

Thruster shut down Float

Thruster reactivated

Transit to next Float location - 3 m

- 50 m - 10 m

Open water Under Ice

Float

330 m 500 m

1000 m

1000 m

Float

4 - 4.5 minutes

Vertical resolution:

10 – 20 cm

Results

Results

Float phase:

50 – 3 m depth

Sampling phase:

550 – 15 m depth

ARK 27/2, Dive 3

July 22^nd 2012, Fram Strait

Image: U. Wulff

Results

Calibration of Fluorometer data (Chl. a) using AUV Sample Collector

(ARK 27/2, July 2012, Fram Strait)

Results

2.0 0.2 [µg/l]

Chlorophyll a

Dissolved Oxygen [mmol/l] 376.9 319.4

Nitrate

[µmol/l] 11.3 0.0

Results

Float phase:

50 – 10 m depth

Sampling phase:

Separate dive

ARK 27/2, Dive 4A

July 24^th 2012, Fram Strait

Image: U. Wulff

Results

34.2 31.6 [g/kg]

Absolute Salinity

Temperature

-1.8 [°C] -1.0

Thank you