AUVs for ANSWRS - ANtarctic Studies of the Western Ross Sea

Several top priority research needs in the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica, can best or only be achieved by use of currently available autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). These include further exploration, ecological studies, and monitoring of recently discovered underwater volcanic vents in shallow (200 m) waters near Franklin Island, which can be used as a test-bed for Antarctic AUV work prior to more complex studies. These vents may provide habitat for communities with a variety of new species, and affect dominant phytoplankton species by providing iron, which strongly affects phytoplankton composition. Following these studies, there is a great need to understand further the ongoing processes involved in the existence and changes in rifts and nascent icebergs of the Ross Ice Shelf. One of these rifts extends out to open water, so initial studies with an AUV will not have to extend far underneath the Ice Shelf, but will provide the first data on the expression of these saltwater-filled rifts on the underside of the Ice Shelf, and provide a baseline for monitoring their expansion over time. Finally, the entire area underneath the Ross Ice Shelf remains the largest unexplored area on the face of the Earth. There is a need to collect both bathymetric data under this ice shelf, as well as profiling the underside of the Ice Shelf itself. These data can only be collected by AUV. With experience in the first two areas of study, confidence can be gained to explore under the Ross Ice Shelf. Data collection on bathymetry can also include studies of prior iceberg scour to obtain a perspective on the historical dynamics of the Ice Shelf. AUV video can provide initial data on biological communities associated with these environments. Plans by others to drill a borehole near the grounding line would allow placement of an acoustic or other locator beacon at this location which could provide for more accurate navigation and bathymetric charting, as well as an opportunity for the AUV to re-power itself to permit further exploration of the grounding zone region. As the last major unexplored region on Earth, and an area whose dynamics have in the past profoundly affected global climate, it is time to proceed with AUV studies in Antarctica directed toward a better understanding of the marine environment, and the Ross Ice Shelf specifically. Planning and methods for these explorations are discussed in relation to the International Polar Year priorities of the Biology Working Group of the UN Science Committee on Antarctic Research, and the International Bathymetric Charting of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) project.