Underwater Drones to Measure Ocean PH, Dissolved Oxygen, Salinity

SingularityHub.com recently published an article titled “Swarm of Underwater Drones to Help Explore Ocean,” detailing a new $1 million underwater exploration initiative funded by the National Science Foundation.

Jules Jaffe of UC San Diego’s Scripps Institute will oversee the initiative, which will employ a fleet of custom-designed drones he calls Autonomous Underwater Explorers, or UAE. The drones are designed to measure a variety of parameters, including salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, chlorophyll levels and water turbudity.

Once deployed, the UAE may be used to monitor protected marine habitats, help retrieve black boxes from plane crash sites, or track oil spills.