Ifremer has awarded a contract to ALSEAMAR for the design and development of an underwater glider capable of reaching depths of 3,500 meters.
This project, which aims to strengthen France’s deep-ocean exploration capabilities, is funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) on behalf of the French government as part of the “Deep Seabed” priority of the France 2030 investment plan.
Ifremer will serve as the project lead in partnership with the CNRS and Shom. A scientific user group will be closely involved to define the sensors to be developed or integrated, ensuring the new system meets the evolving needs of ocean research.
Underwater gliders are autonomous, remotely operated tools that carry a suite of sensors to collect oceanographic data, from physics to biology, down to about 1,000–1,200 meters. The marine science community has a strong need for a glider capable of diving to depths up to 3,500 meters, as the deep ocean is central to major global scientific and societal challenges.
The current range of underwater gliders manufactured by ALSEAMAR, which is the only European designer and producer of underwater gliders, already allows for oceanographic studies down to 1,250 meters. Surpassing this depth limit presents significant technological challenges, which ALSEAMAR will address by leveraging its expertise in autonomous platform development and ocean data acquisition and processing.
Following the design phase, an initial field demonstration will take place in the Mediterranean Sea to observe variations in the physical and biogeochemical properties of deep waters and to assess the impacts of climate change. This mission will be conducted as part of the MOOSE National Observation Service, coordinated by CNRS-INSU.
Subsequently, several prototypes are slated for a one-year deployment off the coast of Mayotte to enhance knowledge of underwater hazards and geological and seismic risks linked to the Fani Maoré submarine volcano, which was discovered in 2019. The new data collected will complement that gathered since September 2021 by ALSEAMAR’s SEAEXPLORER gliders, which operate at depths up to 1,250 meters, within the framework of the Mayotte Volcanological and Seismological Monitoring Network (REVOSIMA) at the request of Ifremer.
These future deployments will both expand scientific knowledge in key regions and validate this new tool for deep-ocean exploration and monitoring. The new deep-sea glider will join the extensive fleet of underwater vehicles available to the French scientific community, supporting research on ocean circulation, climate change impacts, and seismic and volcanic activity. The mission reflects the ambition of the French government, through France 2030, to advance scientific knowledge of the deep ocean while supporting the emergence of a competitive national industrial sector in underwater technologies.
