Ocean Infinity to provide AUV and ROV support for Weddell Sea expedition

Ocean Infinity will provide support for an expedition that will cover the Larsen C Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica.

Ocean Infinity’s autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and one remotely operated vehicle (ROV) will be used during the expedition to measure a range of physical and biological parameters beneath the ice shelf and the sea-ice.

The data collected will provide information on the little-studied biological systems of this environment and, together with above-ice measurements, will contribute to the understanding of sea-ice conditions in the Weddell Sea and the implications for ocean currents and climate change.

The South African-owned polar research vessel SA Agulhas II has been configured to serve as an operating platform for Ocean Infinity’s AUVs and the ROV.

Depending on ice conditions and the timing of the completion of the scientific research, there are also plans to use the AUVs and the ROV to search for the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which was crushed by sea ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915.