CSIRO deploys autonomous drones to monitor Southern Ocean carbon uptake

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has deployed a fleet of autonomous unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) from Hobart to monitor carbon dioxide absorption in the Southern Ocean. The mission, utilizing wind and solar-powered Saildrone vehicles, aims to circumnavigate Antarctica over a five-year period with quarterly deployments.

The USVs are designed to operate for months in remote, harsh conditions, covering approximately 22,000 kilometers per deployment. This allows researchers to collect data in regions and during seasons where traditional research vessels and commercial ships rarely travel. The vehicles will measure atmospheric CO2, wind, air and sea-surface temperatures, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and seawater CO2 levels.

This international collaboration includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), South Africa’s Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory, Columbia University, the University of Washington, and Schmidt Sciences. The data collected will help refine estimates of ocean carbon sinks, which are responsible for absorbing about a third of atmospheric CO2 annually, with the Southern Ocean specifically accounting for 40 percent of global ocean CO2 uptake.