The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) outlined that underwater robots are being used more regularly by the oil and gas industry to inspect and maintain offshore structures, with the possibility of the machines being adapted to gather extra scientific information.
AIMS scientists Dianne McLean and Miles Parsons are urging closer ties between industry and researchers to maximise the use of the underwater robots, known as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).
In a paper published in the Frontiers in Marine Science journal, a range of instruments can be added to the craft, including cameras, audio recorders and sample collectors.
“With some low-cost engineering and operational tweaks, industry and science can use ROVs to fuel new scientific discoveries. For instance, we could better understand the influence of structures such as platforms and pipelines in marine ecosystems – to the mutual benefit of the resource company and the environment,” McLean said.
The new research follows an earlier study that used adapted underwater vehicles to examine fish populations around a platform on the North West Shelf, 138km offshore from Dampier.
In May, the AIMS team is set to extend the study, working with Santos to use ROVs to survey marine life around shallow water platform jackets.
The craft are routinely used to inspect thousands of industrial subsea structures around the world each year. They operate in shallow water, and at depths down to 3000 metres.
“These small additions to ROVs and their use for scientific surveys has the potential not only to improve environmental management, but also to facilitate more informed engagement with external stakeholders such as regulators and the public,” McLean said.
AIMS stated that the research shows that small enhancements to the vehicles and how they are used could now provide substantial benefits to science and to resource companies in the long term.