Successful execution of remotely piloted autonomous marine vehicles to conduct METOC and Turbidity surveys

Abstract

The Wave Glider® is the world's first fuel-less autonomous marine vehicle (AMV) that harnesses kinetic energy from wave action to produce locomotion in the ocean; in an environmentally friendly manner. The vehicles are completely self-sustaining using solar panels to power their payloads. The platform includes navigational and control systems, and communication to an operations center via satellite. Navigational and operational control with full security can be transferred to a local set up via a master/slave system. This technology provides persistent ocean presence and a reliable data acquisition platform which can support numerous energy industry applications. Exploration & production has environmental applications for effective SEEP surveys and METOC (meteorology and oceanography). The subsea world will benefit from a cost-effective method for data harvesting (Gateway communications). The drilling industry will benefit from magnetic survey applications for better error control. Other applications can be customized and brought to market with a short turnaround time via rapid response engineering and qualification. To date, Wave Gliders have completed over 400,000 cumulative miles of operation in excess of 18,000 days at sea. In January 2013, the PacX mission achieved a milestone with the first Wave Glider reaching its destination in Australia, having travelled 300 days −25,000 total miles — collecting 2,250,000 data points. This talk will begin with a brief overview on both the current and new platform of the Wave Glider technology and its applications. We will then focus on environmental compliance case studies conducted off the coast of North West Australia where gliders were used in a baseline survey prior to commencing pipeline dredging work. A METOC survey followed by a detailed Turbidity study was successfully conducted to collect baseline data as a pre-site survey. We will then discuss the execution of the project and mission plan and explain how contingencies were planned and risk assessments conducted. This will be followed by a detailed discussion regarding the various technologies used for the mission and how this assisted the environmental aspect of the project.