Robot boat maps Pacific underwater volcano

By Sophie Ormiston

Science writer

A robot boat, controlled from the UK, has returned from an initial survey of the underwater Tongan volcano that erupted explosively back in January.

The Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) Maxlimer is part-way through mapping the opening, or caldera, of the underwater Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai (HTHH) volcano.

The vessel, developed by the British company Sea-Kit International, is surveying the volcano as part of the second phase of the Tonga Eruption Seabed Mapping Project (TESMaP), led by New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) and funded by the Nippon Foundation of Japan.

The data collected so far has confirmed earlier reports of continuing volcanic activity from HTHH. A winch on the boat allows instruments to be deployed at depths reaching 300m, in order to collect data from the entire water column.

The 12m-long Maxlimer may be in Tonga, but it is being remotely controlled from 16,000km away in the small coastal village of Tollesbury in Essex. Everything is done over satellite link.

Robotic, remotely controlled boats are likely to be the future of maritime operations. When surveying a dangerous area such as the active HTHH volcano, remote control ensures no crew are put in harm's way.

The collected data will help us understand why the eruption had such a huge and violent impact, as well as help predict future eruptions.

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