The Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) is a custom prototype that was built for the University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping to create high resolution sonar maps of the seafloor in shallow water. The ASV assisted E/V Nautilus in identifying target ROV dive sites for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary expedition in July 2017 and Submerged Shorelines in the California Borderland in November 2018 to locate and identify submerged ancient shorelines. This diesel-powered vehicle can go for 14-16 hours maximum at a speed of up to 5 knots. Designed for mapping from the draft to 150-200 m, radio frequency communication sends data back to scientists from up to 8 km away. Click through the album to learn more about the capabilities of this unique mapping instrument that is still in development!