Review of Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (AUV) Developments 
equipment in their dives to 230 meters (750 feet), but require only one support person above 
water. 
AUVs are the most recent class of exploration 
technology. Independent of the surface, battery 
powered, and controlled by computers using 
various levels of artificial intelligence, these 
vehicles are programmed to carry out various 
underwater survey tasks. The REMUS AUV 
(figure 29) was developed by Woods Hole 
Oceanographic Institution for NURP's Mid-Atlantic 
Undersea Research Center to carry out wide-area 
continental shelf surveys. Designed for coastal 
monitoring and multiple vehicle survey operations, 
REMUS can operate in fresh or salt water. Though small in size, Figure 29. REMUS 
the vehicle is currently configured to support a 
variety of sensor packages. 
LONG-TERM ECOSYSTEM OBSERVATORY [49] 
An innovative approach is being demonstrated by Rutgers University and the Woods Hole 
Oceanographic Institution at a Long-term Ecosystem Observatory (LEO-15) at a 15-meter (48 
foot) depth on the inner continental shelf of New Jersey. Most events in the ocean are missed 
because sensors are not in the ocean environment to continuously recording what happens 
there. As a result of this deficiency, LEO-15 is now the focus of a broad spectrum of research 
sponsored by NURP's Mid-Atlantic Research Center. 
Since its inception, more than 50 projects at LEO-15 have been supported with funding from the 
NSF, NURP, and the National Ocean Partnership Program. 
A dozen different sensors at LEO-15 provide real-time information (figure 30). LEO's Web site 
receives real-time data from satellites and the in situ sensors. An electro-fiber optic cable runs 
along the bottom of the ocean to two submerged nodes. The nodes are equipped with profiling 
instruments that move up and down in the water column, measuring temperature, salinity, and 
depth. Scientists can control the nodes via the Internet onshore. To get an idea of ocean 
events occurring between these nodes, two AUVs have been designed to travel between them 
measuring different oceanic processes. 
LEO's capabilities will eventually extend to sites at 750 meters (2,400 feet) and at 2,500 meters 
(8,000 feet) offshore. Extensive studies have already taken place at the 2,500-meter site where 
six years of intensive sewage sludge dumping occurred. Having an observatory there would 
facilitate the study of the long-term effects of deep-ocean dumping on the ecosystem. This is an 
important consideration in light of the pressing need to find alternative sources for waste 
disposal. The development of other coastal observatories in places like Chesapeake and 
Monterey Bays, on Georges Bank, or in extreme environments, such as along mid-oceanic 
ridges, could also be sparked by LEO-15. 
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