Sophia Merrifield

Dumpsite Seabed Characterization of the San Pedro Basin, CA, From Autonomous Vehicle Observations

Ryan A. McCarthy, Dylan Kriegman, Sophia Merrifield, Heidi Batchelor et autres

ABSTRACT A wide‐area seabed survey was conducted using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in a known dumpsite off the coast of Southern California that has been found to have widespread sediment contamination from the chemical dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). The AUVs were equipped with synthetic …

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PoseIDON: 6DoF pose estimation with foundation model features for marine sediment burial mapping

Jerry Yan, Chinmay Talegaonkar, Nicholas Antipa, Eric Terrill et autres

The burial state of anthropogenic objects on the seafloor provides insight into localized sedimentation dynamics and is also critical for assessing ecological risks, potential pollutant transport, and the viability of recovery or mitigation strategies for hazardous materials such as munitions. Accurate burial …

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Energy-Optimal Trajectory Planning for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Using Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle

Raymond Young, Franklin H. Akins, Sophia Merrifield

Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle, a classical tool from optimal control theory, is used to compute energy-optimal trajectories for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) navigating in deterministic, complex flows. This approach reformulates the optimal control problem as a two-point boundary value problem (TPBVP) for …

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Tidally Dominated Flows past a Three-Dimensional Topography: Wake Vortices, Turbulence, and Mixing

H. M. Aravind, Pranav Puthan, Sutanu Sarkar, Sophia Merrifield et autres

Abstract Oceanic turbulence influences the transport and mixing of freshwater, heat, nutrients, and other biogeochemical tracers. It also has broader implications for oceanic and atmospheric circulations. Tides contribute substantially to the mechanically driven turbulent ocean mixing through the internal waves resulting from …

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Spectral Refraction Modeling of Waves Around the Steep Reef at Palau

Mika Siegelman, W. C. O’Reilly, J. M. Becker, Raymond Young et autres

Abstract Western Pacific islands, such as Palau, are susceptible to wave‐driven inundation due to low land elevations and limited space for coastal retreat. Assessing the impacts of extreme wave events on these low‐lying islands requires regional numerical models that account for remotely …

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Tidally dominated flows past a three-dimensional topography: Wake vortices, turbulence, and mixing

H. M. Aravind, Pranav Puthan, Sutanu Sarkar, Sophia Merrifield et autres

Oceanic turbulence influences the transport and mixing of freshwater, heat, nutrients, and other biogeochemical tracers. It also has broader implications for oceanic and atmospheric circulations. Tides contribute substantially to the mechanically driven turbulent ocean mixing through the internal waves resulting from tide-topography …

Wide Area Seabed Optical Imaging Using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Andrew Pietruszka, Robert Hess, Andrew Nager, J. Patrick Donohoe et autres

Recent advances in Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) navigation, system reliability, and onboard data storage now enable efficient collection of high-resolution optical seabed imagery over survey areas spanning hundreds of square meters, achieving millimeter-scale pixel resolution. Integration of modern imaging systems with low-altitude …

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Integrating Coastal Surveillance for Marine Sovereignty and Conservation: The Palau Case Study

Eric Terrill, Kurt Sadorf, Brian Kim, Mark Otero et autres

The Republic of Palau has emerged as a global leader in marine conservation with the establishment of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary (PNMS), protecting 80% of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Monitoring such a vast ocean area poses significant challenges, especially for …

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Analysis and Test of an Optimal Propeller Speed Schedule to Reduce AUV Energy Consumption

Mark Anderson, Andrew Nager, Sophia Merrifield, Eric Terrill et autres

Methods are sought to extend the range and endurance of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) by reducing their energy consumption. This paper documents an effort to develop and implement a propeller speed command function that is scheduled relative to the measured along-track water …

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Advancing Marine Sanctuary Management with USVs: Optical Sensor Integration for Monitoring Ecosystems in Palau

Sophia Merrifield, Mark Otero, Mika Siegelman, Derek Ung et autres

Autonomous platforms are increasingly critical for sustained monitoring of remote marine environments, where traditional ship-based sampling is logistically limited and costly. Between January 2024 and April 2025, a Boeing Liquid Robotics Wave Glider uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) operated for 360 days in …

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Predictive Power Modeling for WAM-V Operations in Dynamic Ocean Environments

Jacob Springman, Mark Anderson, Sophia Merrifield, Derek Ung et autres

The autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) Wave Adaptive Modular Vehicle (WAM-V) offers a versatile and cost-effective platform for oceanographic research in dynamic ocean environments. This paper presents a predictive power model of the WAM-V to be used as a mission planning tool in …

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Machine Learning Transmission Loss Predictions in Acoustic Field Experiments

Ryan A. McCarthy, Sophia Merrifield, Jit Sarkar, R. Bednar et autres

This study evaluates the capabilities of three distinct transmission loss (TL) models to use as an on-board decision aid to identify locations in depth and range for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and an uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) to improve acoustic communications. …

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