A combination of monitoring technologies designed to advance understanding of the marine environment and prepare for future floating offshore wind developments has been successfully put to the test off the coast of Plymouth.
The two-week trial was designed to give a team led by the University of Plymouth, and spanning science and industry, the opportunity to assemble and test a range of new sensors on board the National Oceanography Centre's ALR1500.
This included fitting the vessel, an Autosub Long Range multi-sensor autonomous underwater vehicle often known as Boaty McBoatface, with a scientific echosounder used here to map fish and zooplankton in the water column, a hydrophone to record underwater sound, and a miniaturised holographic plankton imaging sensor.
These new sensors complemented an existing suite of technologies used to measure temperature, salinity, oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence, currents and fine-scale turbulence, and collectively allowed the team to observe marine life alongside the physical and biogeochemical conditions that shape its distribution.
The deployment was delivered as part of
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Frontline-Impacts of FLOW (Floating Offshore Wind) on Celtic Sea Ocean Fronts and Biodiversity - P
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"> Frontline-Impacts of FLOW (Floating Offshore Wind) on Celtic Sea Ocean Fronts and Biodiversity, a £3.5 million consortium within the ECOFlow programme funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and The Crown Estate and led by Heriot-Watt University.
The team also included: researchers and engineers from Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML); National Oceanography Centre (NOC); SINTEF Ocean; HiDef Aerial Surveying Ltd; Discovery, a division of KONGSBERG. They were in turn supported by Turnchapel Wharf, including Zero USV and Thales, who enabled the safe launch and towing out of the AUV beyond the King's Harbour Master limit and Plymouth Sound.
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