Reactive AUV motion for thermocline tracking

The thermocline is a vertical transition layer in the water column with a strong impact on marine biology, since it affects phytoplankton concentration and, hence, primary production. AUVs can play an important role in understanding this relationship, by sampling the relevant data, usually describing yo-yo patterns spanning the whole water column. In this paper we describe a reactive behavior implemented onboard a small sized AUV, to adapt depth in real time in order to maintain the vehicle in the vicinity of the thermocline and therefore increasing efficiency in the sampling process. Preliminary field tests show that the method is simple, robust and effective.