Overview
SeaTrac is a key partner in the newly formed SUN Fleet, a network of uncrewed ocean robots created by NOAA to address persistent challenges in marine observation. With oceans covering 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, there’s vast potential to study energy exchanges between the ocean and atmosphere, including wind, waves, currents, gases, heat, and fresh water.
The Surface UNcrewed Fleet (SUN Fleet) recently earned international recognition when the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) endorsed it as an emerging network. As part of the GOOS Observations Coordination Group, this designation aligns the SUN Fleet with global ocean monitoring efforts that use ships, buoys, gliders, and animal-borne sensors to collect essential data.
The Future of Marine Research: Goals and Applications
Air-sea interaction research is especially complex. Ocean front regions are unevenly distributed, and gathering meaningful data requires simultaneous measurements just above and below the surface. USVs like SeaTrac’s SP-48 provide researchers with access that far exceeds traditional methods. Operable 24/7 in various sea states, they can navigate broad swaths of ocean that would otherwise be inaccessible due to extreme weather, ocean conditions, or safety risks to both people and equipment on crewed vessels. USVs like the SP-48 are powered by renewable energy, enabling longer, more extensive missions and making this critical data collection effort possible.
The SUN Fleet’s mission is to deploy USV groups along fixed paths in the Southern Ocean to conduct surveys, loiter in areas of concentrated interest, or support targeted missions such as tracking heat waves and hurricanes. This work is expected to improve hurricane intensity forecasts by 30–50% and uncover valuable ocean resources that impact the global climate.
Beyond scientific goals, organizers of SUN Fleet also aim to set protocols and standards for USV-based research, helping shape the future of autonomous ocean observation.
