NOAA researchers will be testing a new way to track tagged fish and collect data on the marine environment this spring in Juneau. They plan to launch an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to learn how useful it would be for future studies on the movements of fish in salt water.
Researchers can program the torpedo-shaped AUV to cruise silently underwater, detecting and recording fish tagged with acoustic tags that use low-frequency sounds. Other sensors on the vehicle collect environmental data, including current speeds, water temperature, salinity, oxygen concentrations, and chlorophyll levels, while a side-scan sonar records images of the ocean floor.
