MAREANO methods testing cruise 2022106

MAREANO is a multi-institute programme concerned with mapping the hydrography, geology, biology, and impacts of the Norwegian Seafloor to aid management planning and monitoring efforts. With aims to systematically survey the whole of the Norwegian Sea EEZ in the coming years, MAREANO is testing the use of AUVs for the expansion of sampling capacity in deep water. This cruise will use a Kongsberg Munin+ AUV (which has a 1500m depth limit, but is sister to the HUGIN 6000m rated AUV) to start assessing how AUVs can be integrated into Standard Operating Protocols for the programme. The cruise covers “old ground” to provide sampling comparisons, whilst expanding our acoustic and photographic coverage in the region.