进大海探索,入无人之境——自主水下航行器引领海洋科学新发现

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Lead to Scientific Discoveries in the Oceanic Wilderness

对无垠海洋的探索,呼唤水下机器人,让研究人员从海上的辛苦和历险中解脱出来。无人、无缆的自主水下航行器就是一种水下机器人,它携带一系列物理、化学、生物传感器测量海水特性,探寻海洋动态过程,还可以趋近海底进行地质测绘。自主水下航行器能运行智能化算法来完成传统方法难以企及的科学任务。文中给出了两例展示自主水下航行器引领的科学发现:对海底火山喷发的新岩浆的精确测绘,以及对有害藻类聚集层的峰值采样。

Exploration of the vast oceans calls for underwater robots to free man from laborious and riskyadventures on the sea. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are unmanned, untethered robots that carry asuite of physical, chemical, and biological sensors to measure water properties and investigate dynamic oceanprocesses. Deep-rated AUVs can approach the seafloor to map geological features. Intelligent algorithms enablethe AUVs to achieve scientific goals that are beyond the capabilities of traditional means. We present two examplesdemonstrating AUVs’ key roles in scientific findings: precise mapping of lava newly erupted from a submarinevolcano, and peak sampling from a harmful algal patch.