1. Autonomous surface vehicles (ASV)

1.1 Applications for autonomous sailboats

The data needed to understand the atmosphere and the oceans, or for climate forecasts, are obtained thanks to a vast array of technological resources:

• Satellite measurements are used to measure a wide variety of meteorological (wind and temperature profiles, radiation budgets, atmospheric dust, albedo, sea ice monitoring, ocean surface temperature anomalies, atmospheric CO ₂ distribution...) and oceanographic (waves, currents, sea surface height...) variables.

• To be usable, these data generally need to be measured in situ. This is the role of the various surface systems: oceanographic vessels, systems of opportunity...