Three unmanned ocean drones are swimming around the main Hawaiian Islands to monitor ocean health.
The 23-foot drones float on the surface of the water and are able to send data and images in real-time to scientists in the lab.
They can measure pH and carbon dioxide levels to give researchers a better understanding of fossil fuel emissions and ocean acidification. If the ocean is too acidic, it can wear out the shells and skeletons of coral and crustaceans.
"Previously, this type of data was only available via models, it is not real-time data. So the saildrone data will be giving us that real-time information about the water quality," said Amy Markel, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Oceanography.
The saildrones are deployed from the Pacific Marine Environmental Lab — a collaboration between the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The lab is also working with the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies and Saildrone Inc.
The saildrones left from Pacific Shipyards International in Honolulu Harbor on Oʻahu in March and the official mission started on April 1.
Beginning off of Hawaiʻi Island, two saildrones will zigzag between the island’s coastline and 5 kilometers offshore, and the third saildrone will sail a direct continuous route around the island.
The instruments will only monitor atmospheric and ocean properties and will not collect any data that can be used to identify people, marine mammals or fish locations.
"We have these buoys out that have been monitoring the island of Oʻahu for the past decade and now these saildrones will allow us to measure around all of our main Hawaiian Islands as we go down the chain," Markel said.
The orange saildrones stick out several feet above the water and are equipped with lights so they are highly visible to anyone out in the ocean.
