Drones will also be used to measure sea ice thickness and snow depth, and the measurements will be coordinated with data from an upward-looking Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) that will be deployed beneath the ice to provide a better understanding of the sea ice conditions.
State-of-the-art AUVs deployed from the ship are able to work independently under the ice, up to 100 nautical miles away from the ship! The AUVs provide high-resolution seabed maps and images, as well as oceanographic surveys and search capabilities. The AUV's are able to withstand the cold Antarctic waters and reach places beneath the ice that no human has ever been able to go. Want to learn more about the cool technology that we'll be using to explore the Weddell Sea? Click here!
We have some of the world's leading scientists on this expedition, and they come from all over the world! The women and men who will be collecting data come from South Africa, England, the U.S., Austria, Holland, Norway and New Zealand. This interdisciplinary team will work together to investigate an area that has never been researched as closely as we will be doing in just a few days.
