A 100-day mission from Vancouver Island to San Diego to assess fish stocks, count marine mammals, and test how unmanned surface vehicles can augment ship-based sampling.

The 2018 West Coast Fisheries Survey is the first time autonomous wind and solar-powered vehicles have been used to gather essential data on fish populations. Five saildrones traveled more than 18,500 nautical miles over 100 days along the US west coast. Four of the saildrones duplicated the path of the NOAA research vessel Reuben Lasker collecting data on sardine, anchovy, and hake, one of the West Coast’s most valuable commercial fisheries. The fifth saildrone collected data close to shore in areas too shallow for the ship to safely navigate.

The Results

This novel survey combined observations of zooplankton, fish, marine mammals, and seabirds throughout the California Current Ecosystem to help scientists directly estimate the amount of fish and krill consumed by their natural predators.

A 60-day effort to assess stocks of Pacific hake and five coastal pelagic species carried out in two sub-missions extending the full length of the US west coast.

Saildrone and NOAA’s Northwest and Southwest Fisheries Science Centers performed the second joint integrated survey of the US West Coast, collecting data on Pacific hake and five coastal pelagic species integral to the California Current Ecosystem. The mission follows up last year’s successful 100-day mission to survey these fish stocks, count marine mammals, and test how unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) can augment ship-based sampling. The 2019 mission combined the efforts of seven saildrones and research teams onboard NOAA FSVs Bell M. Shimada (NWFSC) and Reuben Lasker (SWFSC) to survey the full length of the US West Coast from San Diego, CA, to Cape Flattery, WA.

The Results

The 2019 mission included more granular coverage near shore to depths as shallow as 7 meters, as well as transect extensions up to 140 nautical miles offshore.

Three missions to test the Saildrone platform as part of the Tropical Pacific Observation System monitoring weather and climate in the Pacific Ocean.

Saildrone conducted three annual missions funded by the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)/CPO/GOMO and NOAA/OMAO as a pilot study for the Tropical Pacific Observing System (TPOS)-2020 project. The first mission was deployed from California; the second and third missions were deployed from Hawaii. The vehicles performed various intercomparison surveys with buoys and ships from California to the equator. In 2017, the vehicles also participated in the Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS)-2 field study, which included side-by-side data acquisition with a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) buoy, and the RV Revelle.

The Results

The preliminary data revealed findings regarding sea surface temperature shifts previously undetectable by satellite or buoy.

Tracking melting ice, measuring CO2, and counting fish, seals, and whales to better understand behavior and population in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.

Three saildrones launched from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, spent three months in the US Arctic reaching 75°N and sailing more than 7,775 nautical miles combined before returning to Dutch Harbor for retrieval. Two of the vehicles were equipped with a newly adapted system to measure CO2 concentrations in the Chukchi Sea; the third vehicle, equipped with an echo sounder, remained in the Bering Sea to survey walleye pollock, northern fur seals, and the elusive North Pacific right whale.

The Results

Researchers attached video cameras on northern fur seals to record feeding behavior and verify the species and sizes of fish the fur seals are eating, which was combined with the saildrone data to better understand this declining population.

The 5th annual Arctic mission took a fleet of saildrones to a new frontier—the Arctic ice edge—to improve sea ice prediction and satellite algorithm development.

A fleet of saildrones spent 147 days in the Chukchi Sea intentionally sailing up to and into Arctic sea ice to provide in situ observations for satellite algorithm development as part of the Arctic Multi-sensor Improved Sea Surface Temperature study. A sixth vehicle performed a fisheries survey in the Bering Sea. The fleet traveled more than 36,000 nautical miles and set a new Saildrone northern latitude record of 75.49°N.

The Results

Real-time comparisons of Saildrone data with numerical models revealed that surface net heat fluxes in the Arctic vary substantially, short-range numerical predictions can be very good for certain variables but not for others, and they deviate quickly from saildrone in situ observations as the prediction range increases.

The fastest Atlantic crossing by an autonomous vehicle, and the first vehicle to cross the Atlantic in both directions.

SD 1021 arrived in the United Kingdom from Bermuda in August 2019 after 75 days at sea, setting a record for the fastest Atlantic crossing by an unmanned vehicle. On its return trip, SD 1021 took the direct northern route, sailing predominantly upwind and against the current, completing the 3,402-nautical mile passage in just 68 days and becoming the first unmanned technology to transit in both directions across the Atlantic.

The Results

SD 1021 recorded current strength and direction in the North Atlantic, collected metocean data related to climate science, and demonstrated the endurance and reliability of the Saildrone platform.

A massive international effort using air, space, surface, and sub-surface platforms to improve climate models and weather prediction.

A six-month mission in a productive region of the western Tropical Atlantic as part of NOAA's Atlantic Tradewind Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Interaction Campaign (ATOMIC) and the European multinational Elucidating the Role of Clouds-Circulation Coupling in Climate field observation (EUREC4A). The goal was to understand air-sea interactions with a focus on mesoscale ocean eddies and their influences on atmospheric shallow convection and formation of shallow cumulus clouds.

The Results

The saildrone fleet coordinated with the participating research vessels, aircraft, and other autonomous observing platforms, enabling simultaneous observation of the lower-atmosphere and the upper-ocean with an unprecedented spatio-temporal multi-scale sampling

The first mission by an autonomous vehicle from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, collecting environmental and carbon data for climate science.

An historic 15,000 nautical mile, 274-day mission from Cabo Verde to Trieste, Italy. The mission was a public-private partnership between Saildrone and 12 oceanographic research institutions and universities from seven countries. The mission was conducted in two phases: Phase 1 was an eddy survey near Cabo Verde led by the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research (GEOMAR); Phase 2 focused on cross-calibration of CO2 measurements at fixed ocean stations led by the Integrated Carbon Observation System, Ocean Thematic Center (ICOS OTC).

The Results

The two saildrones overcame significant challenges to complete all of the mission's primary and secondary objectives.

The world's first autonomous circumnavigation of Antarctica, enabling new key insights into ocean and climate processes.

Three vehicles deployed from Bluff, New Zealand, January 2019 to circumnavigate the Southern Ocean; the first vehicle (SD 1020) arrived back in Bluff after the 196-day, 12,000 nautical mile mission. During the mission, SD 1020 faced freezing temperatures, 15-meter (50-foot) waves, 130 km/h (80 mph) winds, and collisions with giant icebergs. This mission was sponsored by the non-profit Li Ka Shing Foundation. Saildrone and the 1851 Trust partnered to develop a series of STEM lesson plans rooted in science, technology, engineering, and math, available to teachers free of charge.

The Results

Preliminary results suggest observed CO2 outgassing during winter months in the same region as previously measured by Argo floats.

Tracking seasonal movements of Alaska red king crab using a Saildrone USV equipped with an acoustic receiver.

Alaska red king crab is one of the most valuable of the commercially harvested crabs, in demand for its succulent and flavorful snow-white meat. To make better decisions regarding the protection of this important fishery, researchers from NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center and Bering Sea Fisheries Research Foundation teamed up to track the movements of red king crab using saildrones. In June 2019, researchers aboard a chartered fishing vessel tagged 148 mature male Alaska red king crabs with a shell length greater than 120 mm (4.7 inches); in September, two Saildrone USVs equipped with keel-mounted VEMCO acoustic receivers were launched from Dutch Harbor, AK, to find out where the crab had gone.

The Results

The two saildrones covered a total of 3,500 nautical miles and located a total of 50 crabs—34% of the tagged group.

A multidisciplinary mission to understand why white sharks regularly congregate in a seemingly inhospitable part of the ocean.

Satellites have revealed that white sharks tagged in the coastal waters of California migrate annually to a region called the White Shark Café, a virtually unknown area situated in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG). In 2018, two saildrones tracked tagged white sharks to the region with the goal of shedding some light on a long-standing question around their migratory habits. The mission was conducted in partnership with Dr. Barbara Block of Stanford University and the Schmidt Ocean Institute and involved a multidisciplinary team of oceanographers, engineers, marine ecologists, and molecular biologists from four institutions.

The Results

For the first time, physical and chemical oceanography data collected by saildrone was combined with biological and behavioral data to help scientists to understand the role the White Shark Café plays in this species' lifecycle.

Tracking melting ice, measuring CO2, and counting fish, seals, and whales to better understand behavior and population in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.

Three saildrones launched from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, spent three months in the US Arctic reaching 75°N and sailing more than 7,775 nautical miles combined before returning to Dutch Harbor for retrieval. Two of the vehicles were equipped with a newly adapted system to measure CO2 concentrations in the Chukchi Sea; the third vehicle, equipped with an echo sounder, remained in the Bering Sea to survey walleye pollock, northern fur seals, and the elusive North Pacific right whale.

The Results

Researchers attached video cameras on northern fur seals to record feeding behavior and verify the species and sizes of fish the fur seals are eating, which was combined with the saildrone data to better understand this declining population.