AUV Applications and Technologies of Deep Sea Exploration in the Arctic: A Review

Global warming has brought new demands and challenges to Arctic exploration. Considering the harsh environment and complex mission requirements, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are credited with their high degree of autonomy and long-range endurance. It has become the main oceanographic tools for the human to investigate ice-covered waters. This paper reviews the Arctic environment and the previous deployments and applications of AUVs in the Arctic, with special attention paid to navigation, high-latitude communication, and logistics. Combined with current research on AUV, the development trends of AUV application in the Arctic are summarized.