Ifremer has awarded a contract to ALSEAMAR for the design and development of a new deep-sea underwater glider.
The project, funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) on behalf of the French government under the “Deep Seabed” priority of the France 2030 investment plan, is intended to strengthen France’s capabilities in deep-ocean exploration and observation. Ifremer is leading the project 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 system meets the evolving needs of ocean research.
Underwater gliders are autonomous and remotely operated tools that carry a suite of sensors to collect oceanographic data, from physics to biology. Current operational gliders can traverse the oceans from the surface down to about 1,000–1,200 meters. The marine science community has a strong need for a glider capable of diving to depths of up to 3,500 meters, as the deep ocean is central to major global scientific and societal challenges.
ALSEAMAR, the only European designer and producer of underwater gliders, already manufactures vehicles used by the scientific community that can reach depths of 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 is planned to take place in the Mediterranean Sea. This mission, conducted as part of the MOOSE National Observation Service coordinated by CNRS-INSU, will observe variations in the physical and biogeochemical properties of deep waters and assess the impacts of climate change.
Subsequently, several prototypes will be deployed for one year off the coast of Mayotte. These deployments will enhance knowledge of underwater hazards and geological and seismic risks linked to the Fani Maoré submarine volcano, which was discovered in 2019. The data collected will complement existing data gathered since September 2021 by ALSEAMAR’s SEAEXPLORER gliders (capable of 1,250-meter depths) as requested by Ifremer within the framework of the Mayotte Volcanological and Seismological Monitoring Network (REVOSIMA).
These future deployments are intended to expand scientific knowledge in these 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. This 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.
