New technologies for environmental monitoring.
UNDERWATER DRONES
For years now, CLS has been using underwater drones known as gliders. They assess the quantity of CO2, plankton and hydrocarbons in seawater. We can also measure the effects of global warming, the acidification of oceans and pollution in specific areas of the world.
PROOCEANO, the CLS group’s Brazilian underwater drones can stay at sea for months to perform numerous dives for missions that were impossible before. We cooperate with international research bodies using these drones, which measure data that are then collected by satellites. These state-of-the-art instruments provide valuable information on the marine environment, including wave height, wind speed, current intensity, ocean surface and depth temperatures. All these data can be fed into climate models.
UAVs FOR ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE
There are already regulations to limit greenhouse gases at sea. CLS is developing innovative solutions to support authorities wanting to ensure compliance with these regulations. In order to reduce pollutants harmful to the climate and health in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and off the US coasts (in these cases mostly nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) set standards dictating that from 1 January 2015, the maximum limit of sulphur contained in authorized marine fuel is to be divided by ten.
How can we check that shipping complies with these regulations far from the shore?
CLS offers a solution for coastal applications. Satellite-linked drones are able to check pollution emanating from ships located by satellite. The use of polluting fuel can thus be detected remotely and in real time, offering competent authorities the means of enforcing the standards. The ESA-funded European STEAM project will be testing this system at sea in 2016.
