Sonardyne has developed a marine vehicle which can collect data from the seafloor unmanned, removing the need for survey vessels.
For three years, the UK firm has been recording pressure data for monitoring subsidence in a Shell-operated deepwater field.
Now, a new wave glider has proven successful in remaining at sea for months in all weather conditions, moving from location to location to different locations to collect data on its own using the acoustic modem.
The technology can be fitted with a range of sensors including pressure (depth), temperature, inclination, sound velocity and conductivity. At remotely configurable intervals, each node wakes up, logs and time-stamps sensor data to its onboard memory before returning to standby mode until the next measurement cycle.
Shaun Dunn, global business manager in exploration at Sonardyne, said: “This method not only significantly reduces the total cost of operations but it also removes the health and safety risks associated with sending a vessel and crew to sea.”
The project was a collaboration between Sonardyne, Shell and Liquid Robotics.