USV Provides Near Real-Time Deep Ocean Current Observations

A new way to monitor previously hidden, but disruptive, deep ocean currents in near-real-time has been proven by a recently completed uncrewed technology collaboration in the US Gulf of Mexico.  

In a science-industry first, marine technology companies Sonardyne and SeaTrac Systems used advanced sensors and uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) to deliver science-ready deep ocean current data on the Gulf’s Loop Current System, direct to scientists’ desks in near real-time.

The project, commissioned and in collaboration with the University of Rhode Island (URI), opens the door to reliable, on-demand and sustained high-resolution observations of powerful and dynamic ocean systems, without the need to send people offshore.

In turn, this boosts scientists’ ability to improve predictive models, helping industry and science understand and mitigate the hazards posed by disruptive deep ocean currents, like the Loop Current System.

The project was completed during Fall 2025 and funded by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program.  

“Sustained deep-ocean measurements remain rare despite their importance,” says Randy Watts, Professor of Oceanography, URI. “This project demonstrates how commercially available instruments and uncrewed vehicles can deliver science-ready data in strong current systems – overcoming the dual challenges of station-keeping where most USVs fail and cost-effective deployment without expensive research vessels.”

The collaboration used Sonardyne’s advanced Origin 65 seabed acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) and SeaTrac’s SP-48 USV to gather near-real-time current profile data from the Loop Current System.

Over 18 months, four Origin 65s and five pressure inverted echosounders were deployed in 1,800 to 3,200 m water depth, in the heart of the LCS, 200 nm off the coast of Louisiana.  

Origin 65 is a 4,100 m-rated, low frequency, deepwater profiling ADCP. It can profile up to 800 m range in time-aligned, high resolution and also comes with pressure inverted echo sounder (PIES) functionality.  

With the Origin 65’s integrated Edge processing capability and acoustic modem, data could be acoustically harvested from the surface by SeaTrac’s remotely piloted USV, using a Sonardyne HPT 7000 transceiver.  

The solar and battery powered SP-48 was tasked with navigating variable ocean currents and weather conditions in the Gulf to reach the sensor locations and harvest the data. It was then able to send the science-ready data to shore through its dual iridium and Starlink satellite links, which also enabled high-data rate and real-time communications back to shore.  

In total, three deployments covering more than 30 days, the SP-48, which can sustain 2 to 3kt operations and sprints up to 5kt, covered around 1,500nm. During this time, more than 135 GB of high-resolution ocean currents and related parameter data at up to 800m above the bottom were harvested.  

Going forward, data gathered during the mission will improve models that forecast currents such as topographic Rossby waves, providing critical insights for science and safety in the region and opening new avenues for future research.