Depending on their pressure resistance, existing AUVs for scientific
research can operate in water depths (WD) of up to 6000 m (Fig. 1).
The ability of deep-water AUVs to fly relatively close to the seabed
(b5maltitude in areas of lowrelief)means they are potentially capable
of collecting seafloor mapping, profiling and imaging data of far higher
spatial resolution (up to two orders of magnitude) and navigational accuracy
than surface vessels and towed instruments, which include
sidescan sonar (Murton et al., 1992; Scheirer et al., 2000)