Riptide Hypoxic Zone AUV

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT: Buoyancy driven oceanographic gliders, although reasonably cost effective, have challenges operating in the zones due to high gradients in water density. Under this topic, Riptide will provide a cost-effective autonomous undersea vehicle (AUV) design leveraged from Riptide's family of man-portable AUVs that can more effectively map the hypoxic areas. The stated goals of this topic are to:1) substantially improve the monitoring capabilities currently implemented for the Gulf hypoxic zone, to 2) provide a cost- efficient mapping capability that could leverage operational support from interested partners as contribution to the Cooperative Hypoxia Monitoring Program, currently in development, and, if successful, to 3) extend this technology to other environments where high density gradients in shallow waters have hampered glider applications to monitoring.Under this effort, Riptide will provide the AUV design solution that will operate in close bottom proximity in areas of high water density variability to better survey this area of concern.SUMMARY OF ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Riptide will demonstrate the increased power density and bouyancy control of the Open Water Power aluminum seawater energy source. Additionally, Riptide will conduct and complete trade studies to select subsystems and provide the final vehicle configuration best able to acheive the hypoxix zone survey.