Innovative Marine Robotic Platforms for High-Resolution Monitoring of Arctic Fjords

The Arctic region is undergoing rapid transformations due to climate change, with tidewater glaciers playing a key role in freshwater and sediment input into fjords. Understanding the dynamics and consequences of these processes is often hindered by the difficulty of accessing the hazardous glacier-ocean interface, where traditional manned vessels cannot operate safely. In this context, lightweight, modular, and reconfigurable unmanned marine vehicles such as SWAMP and PROTEUS offer a transformative approach to polar science. PROTEUS is a portable and transformable UMV able to operate as a surface, semi-submersible and underwater vehicle. SWAMP, is a flexible, lightweight ASV studied for extremely shallow waters and harsh environments. Their modular design allows adaptation to specific scientific goals, including plume detection, surface and subsurface sampling, and hydrographic column profiling. This work presents the technological advancements and field applications of these robotic platforms during campaigns conducted in Ny-Ålesund (2015, 2017, 2018), Hornsund (2022), and Adventfjorden (2023), focusing on high-resolution sampling and monitoring of freshwater plumes and environmental parameters near glacier fronts. These vehicles enable close-range operations in dynamic and dangerous environments, allowing for the collection of physical-chemical profiles, water samples for contaminant analysis, and cooperative observations with UAVs for integrated air-water monitoring. The ability to autonomously reach areas influenced by subglacial discharge and perform 3D environmental mapping opens new avenues for environmental assessment and long-term ecosystem monitoring. These campaigns demonstrate how autonomous marine robots contribute to polar science by overcoming logistical and safety constraints, improving spatial-temporal data resolution, and supporting global efforts for climate change observation and mitigation.