AutoNaut has played a vital role in enabling The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) to seize upon the quiet of the COVID-19 quarantine to map the underwater soundscape of the Belgian section of the North Sea.

Using its near silent AutoNaut USV research vessel, Adhemar (pictured), VLIZ has been able to record current noise levels, which will be compared with the marine soundscape once normal sea traffic and marine activities resume. This will help, it is reported, to determine the impact of manmade noise on natural sea life and the marine environment, building a picture of the marine soundscape in conditions that may never again be possible.