Saildrone's first shallow-water multibeam bathymetry mission in the Gulf of Mexico.

Saildrone partnered with the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to launch a Saildrone unmanned surface vehicle (USV) equipped with a shallow-water multibeam echo sounder in the Gulf of Mexico to test the accuracy and longevity of the platform. SD 1024 spent 10 days sailing narrow transects in key areas of the gulf. The mission was designed to show that the saildrone could steer accurately enough to conduct a multibeam survey in shallow water and that the saildrone power budget could handle the significant requirements of a multibeam system operating 24/7.

The Results

With minimal post-processing, Saildrone data was found to meet or exceed International Hydrographic Organization standards for safety of navigation surveys.

An 8,000 nautical mile mission from San Francisco to the Canadian border to provide modern, accurate mapping data of Alaska’s North Slope and the Bering Sea.

A five-month mission to map the 20-meter and 50-meter isobaths off Alaska's North Slope to, with additional surveys in Norton Sound and Kuskokwim Bay. Metocean data collected simultaneously was shared with the GTS in real time. The mission was operated in collaboration with TerraSond on behalf of NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) Office of Coast Survey (OCS). It is the first step toward resolving major gaps in the charts of the Arctic.

The Results

Data collected will be used to improve nautical charts of the Arctic, and lays the groundwork for future mapping operations in the Arctic and beyond.