Drones are not just for hobbyists, they have a new scientific application—indicating changes beneath the sea surface. MBARI researchers are exploring the possibilities of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to accompany and enhance ocean science and engineering. Aerial platforms such as UAVs, or drones, as they are more commonly known, are making headway into scientific…

Imagine if a car, a computer, or a battery-operated appliance could work reliably without maintenance for an entire year of operation. Also imagine that device being lowered into the ocean to free fall 4,000 meters to the seafloor, land upright, and travel across the seafloor autonomously while collecting scientific data for an entire year. MBARI’s…