David Walsh: Coastal Ocean Observing Systems

SeaTrac Systems, Inc. (SeaTrac), in collaboration with the Woods Hole Group (WHG), successfully completed a 21 day over the horizon, deployment of SeaTrac’s SP-48 solar powered Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV) in the Gulf of Mexico.

The 15 ft USV travelled over 800 nautical miles in 3 weeks, operated 24/7, and navigated strong ocean currents (> 2 knots) as it conducted a mission to map and monitor the Loop Current using an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP).