NIWA, New Zealand's leading environmental science and applied research service provider, has announced an exciting project by NIWA and The Nippon Foundation to undertake a mission to discover the undersea impacts of the recent Tongan volcanic eruption at a press conference on 1 April 2022 at 01:00 BST.

As a key part of the project, SEA-KIT International’s Uncrewed Surface Vessel, ‘Maxlimer’, will carry out a full month’s survey over the caldera, mapping its current shape.

During this time the vessel, remotely controlled from SEA-KIT’s base in Essex, will gather a range of data to develop and support understanding of the eruption’s undersea impact  using less than 2% of the fuel of a typical survey vessel.

Deployment of a USV for survey inside the caldera not only reduces risk to people, but also ensures that the carbon emissions for the project are significantly lower than they would be if a crewed vessel was deployed for the entire project period.