Earlier this month, Professor Liu Qingsong from the Department of Ocean Science and Engineering (OSE) at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) led his “Ocean UAV Magnetic Measurement Platform R&D Team” to conduct successful aerial sea trials of their ocean unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) magnetic measurement system. The team sought to solve global scientific and technological problems for technical research. With the ocean covering 70% of the earth’s surface, it is the most active place for the global materials, energy and biological cycles. As a result it is closely related to human development.

However, the ocean hides the detailed geomorphological structure of the ocean floor, which means there has been considerable effort put into how to efficiently carry out high-resolution marine exploration by many teams around the world. The ocean floor is full of various magnetic minerals, so measuring the distribution of the anomalies in the magnetic field on the ocean floor is an effective geophysical method of studying the ocean floor and the distribution of mineral resources.

Traditional methods lack either sufficient resolution or efficiency, so the “Spotlight” project co-sponsored by OSE and the Shenzhen Peacock Team, Professor Liu Qingsong and his team have developed a UAV that can effectively measure magnetic anomalies on the ocean floor. His team are stacked with highly-talented researchers from SUSTech, the Guangzhou office of the China Geological Survey, Gatec (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd., and Zongheng (Shenzhen) UAV Technology Co., Ltd.

November 1 to 4 saw the team conducted several sea trials over the Pearl River Estuary, including fixed take-off and landing on a marine survey ship platform, aeromagnetic compensation tests, aeromagnetic detection and system-linked “sea-air” magnetic measurement tests. This is the first time such tests have ever been conducted.

The breakthroughs and technological innovations provide a new platform for future marine magnetic measurements. There are efficiency gains to be made by an order of magnitude, and further technological innovations will bring scientific breakthroughs.

Professor Liu Qingsong will lead the team to carry out research in areas such as the Mariana Trench in the next few years, exploring tectonic evolution and subsea magma, determining the distribution of underwater mineral resources and contributing to the advancement of marine science in China.