A collaboration in the US Gulf of Mexico has demonstrated a new method for gathering near-real-time observations of deep ocean currents, using uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) and seabed sensors. The work has been described as the first science-industry demonstration of sustained, science-ready deep-ocean measurements delivered without crewed vessels.
Marine technology companies Sonardyne and SeaTrac Systems partnered with the University of Rhode Island (URI) on the project, which focused on the Gulf’s Loop Current System (LCS) – a powerful and highly dynamic deep-water current that poses operational risks to offshore infrastructure. The effort was funded by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program and completed during autumn 2025.
“Sustained deep-ocean measurements remain rare despite their importance,” said Randy Watts, professor of oceanography at URI. “This project demonstrates how commercially available instruments and uncrewed vehicles can deliver science-ready data in strong current systems – overcoming the dual challenges of station-keeping where most USVs fail and cost-effective deployment without expensive research vessels.”
The system combined Sonardyne’s Origin 65 acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) with SeaTrac’s SP-48 USV. Four Origin 65 instruments and five pressure inverted echosounders were deployed for 18 months at depths between 1,800m and 3,200m, around 200 nautical miles off Louisiana. Origin 65 is a 4,100m-rated, low-frequency deep-water profiler capable of measuring current velocities up to 800m above the seabed, with integrated pressure inverted echo sounder functionality and onboard edge processing.
Data from the seabed sensors were acoustically transmitted to the surface, where SeaTrac’s remotely piloted SP-48 harvested them using a Sonardyne HPT 7000 transceiver. The solar- and battery-powered USV was tasked with navigating variable ocean conditions to reach each site, then relayed the data to shore via dual Iridium and Starlink satellite links.
In three deployments spanning more than 30 days, the SP-48 covered approximately 1,500 nautical miles. The vehicle, which can sustain 2-3kts operations with sprints up to 5kts, returned more than 135GB of high-resolution current and water-column data.
Michelle Barnett, business development manager for ocean science at Sonardyne, said the demonstration shows that “long-term, persistent monitoring of powerful and dynamic ocean systems with USVs instead of traditional vessels is now a reality”, and added that the mission establishes “a new global precedent for using USVs to make critical, sustained ocean data accessible, consistently – with zero crew risk, zero emissions and a repeatable approach we can scale to other regions.”
The data will now be used to improve understanding of ocean circulation and climate processes, including the forecasting of topographic Rossby waves, which can pose hazards to offshore activity. Researchers involved in the project say the approach offers a scalable model for autonomous ocean observation.
“Deploying advanced technologies like those from SeaTrac and Sonardyne is key to deepening our understanding of the world’s oceans,” commented Hobie Boeschenstein, director of operations and business development at SeaTrac. “There is still so much to explore, and our teams are proud to help scientists safely reach and study some of the most challenging marine environments on Earth.”
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