As hurricane season approaches each summer, coastal communities on the U.S. Atlantic seaboard brace for impact. These fast-moving and often deadly storms aren’t only a persistent threat to human safety, they also present a significant economic impact—hurricane damage in the U.S. is estimated at around $54 billion annually. In partnership with NOAA, Saildrone is going storm chasing in the Tropical
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On May 28, 2020, four uncrewed vessels departed Alameda, California, to begin their transit across the Pacific Ocean, through Unimak Pass, across the Bering Sea, and into the Arctic. These small, uncrewed vessels, powered only by wind and sun, arrived at Point Hope, Alaska, in early August to start an ambitious project acquiring new depth data along the 20- and
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NOAA Fisheries traditionally uses research vessels and chartered fishing vessels to perform fisheries surveys, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this summer’s ship-based surveys in the region have been canceled. Instead, three Saildrone unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) deployed from Alameda, California, are sailing to the Bering Sea to perform this important task. The Alaska pollock fishery in the eastern Bering
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On March 6, 2020, two Saildrone USVs completed the first autonomous passage of the Strait of Gibraltar. The 31-nautical mile (58-km) passage between Europe and Africa is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The Strait of Gibraltar is only 7 nm (13 km) across at its narrowest and 23.7 nm (44 km) at its widest. Approximately 300 ships
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