Development of an autonomous underwater vehicle for sub-ice environmental monitoring in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

The investigation of environmental impacts from oil development in the Prudhoe Bay region of the Beaufort Sea, along Alaska's northern coast is currently underway at the Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech). Of particular interest are the impacts of the construction of offshore gravel islands used for oil drilling and production. Construction of these islands may contribute to an increase in suspended sediment concentrations in the waters of Prudhoe Bay, which could have adverse affects on the health of local marine ecosystems. In response to the needs of the project, the Underwater Technologies Laboratory (UTL) at Florida Tech has developed a unique autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The purpose of this AUV is to perform automated point-to-point data collection missions underneath the thick winter ice sheet. This paper presents the overall design concept of the AUV, along with the design of the prototype vehicle's various subsystems including propulsion, navigation, environmental sensor payload, CPU, power, and software.