Optimizing AUV oceanographic surveys

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Abstract
The objective of an oceanographic sur- vey is to obtain the best understanding of the phe- nomena under study for a given amount of expended effort. This problem is complicated by the fact that the ocean usually evolves on a time scale comparable to (or faster than) the survey time. The ideal sur- vey would be accomplished instantaneously and with infinite resolution. However, as platform limitations preclude such synoptic surveys, compromises between resolution, total survey time, and vehicle speed must be made. This paper presents a framework for optim- izing uniform surveys of temporally evolving scalar fields under platform introduced constraints. Know- ledge of the statistical characteristics of the ocean and the dominant physical processes are assumed. Advec- tion is assumed to be negligible as a driving factor in temporal variations. The survey error, given by the squared difference between the true and reconotruc- ted field, is determined as a function of the survey parameters. These in turn are subject to the nhys- ical limitations of the vehicle. Combining these con- straints, we arrive at a tool which can be used to maximize survey efficiency and to asses relative effi- ciencies of various adaptive sampling techniques.

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