Uncrewed Surface Vessels, like this Saildrone, offer a cost-effective way to greatly increase ocean observations. Credit: Saildrone.
Patterson, R.G., M.F. Cronin, S. Swart, J. Beja, J.M. Edholm, J. McKenna, J.B. Palter, A. Parker, C.I. Addey, W. Boone, P. Bhuyan, J.J.H. Buck, E.F. Burger, J. Burris, L. Camus, B. de Young, M. du Plessis, M. Flanigan, G.R. Foltz, S.T. Gille, L. Grare, J.E. Hanson, L.R. Hole, M.C. Honda, V. Hormann, C. Kohlman, N. Kosaka, C. Kuhn, L. Lenain, L. Looney, A. Marouchos, E.K. McGeorge, C.R. McMahon, S. Mitarai, C. Mordy, A. Nagano, S.-A. Nicholson, S. Nickford, K.M. O'Brien, D. Peddie, L. Ponsoni, V. Ramasco, N. Rozenauers, E. Siddle, C. Stienbarger, A.J. Sutton, N. Tada, J. Thomson, I. Ueki, L. Yu, C. Zhang, and D. Zhang (2025): Uncrewed surface vehicles in the Global Ocean Observing System: A new frontier for observing and monitoring at the air-sea interface. Front. Mar. Sci., 12, 1523585, doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1523585.
The global ocean covers 71% of the planet. Across these vast spaces, interactions between the ocean and atmosphere are primary drivers of Earth's weather, climate and marine productivity.
Satellites, instrumented moorings, and infrequent ship-borne research missions have revealed much about these interactions, but large areas of the ocean are significantly undersampled.
To fill in the gaps, scientists have increasingly turned to an array of Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USV), some of which can navigate tens of thousands of kilometres to capture key observations autonomously. Most rely upon renewable energy from wind, waves, and the Sun for propulsion and to power their sensors and telemetry systems.
"This technology is currently booming,," said Ruth Patterson, an oceanographer with Charles Darwin University in Australia. "We urgently need to establish a global network to agree on standards and best practices so that USV data can be used to enhance our understanding of the oceans and climate."
To rectify that, Patterson and an international team of researchers including scientists from NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), the University of Washington, and the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, conducted a review of the global use of USVs and how well the recommended attributes of a global observing network are met.
The Observations Coordination Group (OCG), which oversees the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), has identified ten important attributes of an in-situ GOOS network, about half of which were well-met or progressing. In particular, the review cited 200 USV datasets, published in 96 peer reviewed studies, capturing observations of 33 physical, biogeochemical, biological and ecological processes spanning the air-sea transition zone across the global ocean.
"An endorsed USV GOOS network needs to have or be working towards a data management infrastructure that includes defined standards and recommended practices," said Kevin O'Brien, a CICOES scientist and vice chair of the OCG. "This is the next step for an emerging network of GOOS."
The review was carried out under the auspices of the Observing Air-Sea Interactions Strategy (OASIS), a program of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development, and was published in the journal Frontiers of Marine Science.
Patterson will present a proposal to establish a permanent global USV network within the Global Ocean Observing System to the Observations Coordination Group during its April meeting in France.
PMEL scientist Meghan Cronin, co-chair of the OASIS program, said "this offers a roadmap for building this international network that offers a key to new frontiers in ocean sciences."