'Boaty McBoatface': Submersible Vehicle To Have Its Historic Journey Across The Arctic Ocean

First Posted: Oct 19, 2016 05:08 AM EDT

A British autonomous submersible vehicle known as Boaty McBoatface will navigate 1,500 miles across the Arctic ocean in 2018 or 2019. Currently, it is now on training for this historic journey.

Boaty McBoatface will dive to the bottom of the Southern Ocean to know how currents work at their lowest levels. The said submersible vehicle can dive down to a depth of nearly four miles. It will then go over the North Sea to explore how and why carbon dioxide is hidden offshore. Then, it will finally navigate the Arctic and explore the ecosystem underneath the ice without GPS, according to Popular Mechanics.

Boaty lives on! #polarship #BoatyMcBoatface @STEMLearningUK pic.twitter.com/6qs9FHHydR

— Dianne Watson-Payne (@itgirlnorth) October 17, 2016

Professor Russel Wynn, from the National Oceanography Centre, Boaty's UK base said that it represents one of the last great transects on Earth for an autonomous sub. He further said that in the past, such submersible vehicles have gone perhaps 150 km (horizontally) under the ice and then come back out again. He added that Boaty McBoatface will have the endurance to go all the way to the Arctic.

Look who's making a guest appearance at #NERCIntotheblue in #Manchester! Free tickets available https://t.co/3k4mnDg3IM #BoatyMcBoatface pic.twitter.com/JMZYzO0bXy — NERC Planet Earth (@NERCPlanetEarth) October 18, 2016

Prof. Wynn is affirmative toward Boaty and has high hopes. He described Boaty as the marathon-running equivalent of the other submersible vehicles in that it goes deeper, longer but slower. He explained that Boaty can operate for months and could work in the deepest parts of the ocean, unlike the other yellow submarines that go for a couple of days recover them and recharge the batteries.

The Boaty McBoatface could reach a depth of 6,000 meters and operate for extended periods without any mediation from humans, according to BBC. The journey could provide and help scientists know the conditions underneath the ice.