The Lifeboat Project

The newly developed Autonomous, Directional Acoustic Profiling Float for Soundscape Characterization doesn't just listen to the ocean — it runs on it! During its final demonstration, it used the thermal energy of the ocean to power 54 successful dives. By enabling sustained exploration of poorly understood deepwater soundscapes, this float can expand the breadth of our deep-ocean knowledge, support biological and hazards monitoring, and inform management and mitigation of ocean noise to eliminate or reduce impacts on marine life.

Learn more about this project: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/expedition/24autonomous-acoustics/

Image: The Seatrec infiniTE float with directional acoustic sensor after its deployment for its final demonstration off Hawai‘i. Image courtesy of Michael Zedelmair, Seatrec.

Seatrec, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School, MBARI