University of Glasgow researchers will lead a £1.3m new partnership which aims to develop a network of underwater sensors to monitor the vital signs of the planet’s warming oceans.

The new project, led by Professor Martin Lavery of the James Watt School of Engineering, is one of 27 which will share in £81m in funding from ARIA’s Forecasting Tipping Points programme. This funding is subject to final contract negotiation.

The Tipping Points programme aims to enhance climate change response by developing an early warning system for tipping points.

Major parts of the Earth system are at risk of crossing climate tipping points within the next century, with severe consequences for biodiversity, food security, agriculture, and humanity.

The programme’s funding will help build early warning systems for climate tipping points, equipping leaders with the information they need to adapt to and mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.

The team is developing a novel hybrid communication and sensing platform called the Optical Reconnaissance and Communication Antenna (ORCA) that leverages structured light to sense the underwater environment and provide cable-free communications between autonomous networks of underwater sensors.

Through coordination with satellite imaging, the “pod” of ORCAs will travel the oceans, mapping hydrography in space and time.

This high-resolution underwater mapping of oceanic currents, depth-resolved temperature, particulate content, and salinity will be critical for monitoring emerging geophysical and biogeochemical reactions of our oceans to climate change.

Professor Lavery said: “We are excited to be selected to contribute to the ambitious Forecasting Tipping Points programme, that has the potential to drive a step change in our understanding of the environmental changes that are expected to occur over the coming years and decades.

“Through engaging with the diverse array of creators, we hope our new sensing technology can play a significant role in improving our early warning systems for major disruptions to the ocean currents and can help the UK and world prepare for an uncertain future.”

Professor Lavery will lead the Optical Geophysical Sensors Networks for Ocean Monitoring project in partnership with Dr David McKee of the University of Strathclyde and Professor Mark Inall of the Scottish Association for Marine Science.

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The project is the latest development in the University of Glasgow’s relationship with ARIA.

In September 2023, Professor Mark Symes of the School of Chemistry was appointed as one of ARIA’s founding Programme Directors.

In January this year, the £4m NEUROBOT project, led by Professor Hadi Heidari of the James Watt School of Engineering, was unveiled as part of ARIA’s £69m Precision Neurotechnologies programme.

Co-led by Programme Directors Gemma Bale and Sarah Bohndiek, ARIA’s Forecasting Tipping Points programme looks to create an early warning system capable of equipping us with the information, understanding and time we need to accelerate proactive climate adaptation and mitigation.

Backed by £81m over five years, the programme will unite 27 international teams in a collaborative effort to detect the earliest signs of climate tipping points.

ARIA’s programme includes experts from fields like optics, nuclear physics, and photonics – many pivoting their expertise to this critical challenge – and two brand new non-profit organisations in the UK.