Ice penetrating communication buoy for underwater vehicles operating in the arctic

A long-range (order 1500 km) autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for operation in the Arctic has been developed by a consortium comprised of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fuel Cell Technologies Ltd, and Scientific Solutions Inc. The vehicle is instrumented to collect data on the changes that are taking place in the hydrography and ice cover of the Arctic Ocean. To solve both navigation and data retrieval issues, Scientific Solutions, Inc. has developed a communication buoy and launcher section for the vehicle. The vehicle carries up to twelve buoys horizontally in the launcher section. The buoys will be launched approximately once per day. Prior to launch, data collected by the AUV is transferred to the buoy via an inductive link. After launch, the buoy ascends to the surface and melts its way through the ice. Substantial engineering issues related to the melt-through process, including stability and buoyancy, have been solved. After the buoy penetrates the ice, it deploys GPS and ARGOS antennae. The positional information and the data stored in the buoy are then transmitted to a shore station via ARGOS