New York's Bedrock Ocean is poised to shed some light — or sonar — on Earth's dark and mysterious seafloors. 

The company's autonomous underwater vehicle program has earned $25 million in investments to expand mapping work that has already been leveraged by offshore wind developers, among other industries, according to TechCrunch. 

"The pot at the end of the rainbow that everybody has been chasing for 20 years has been, can we replace traditional ships?" Bedrock Chief Operating Officer Brandon Mah told the publication.

The benefits are twofold. By using a single ship to transport up to 12 torpedo-shaped AUVs, explorers can reduce fuel-guzzling fleets needed to shower the ocean with sonar blasts, cutting costs and air pollution. Two AUVs can cover the ground of a traditional ship, TechCrunch added.

For its part, shipping is responsible for about 3% of planet-warming carbon dioxide production, the European Federation for Transport and Environment estimated. 

NASA experts reported that our oceans have absorbed 90% of Earth's overheating in recent decades, causing harm to crucial coral reefs and other species. 

Secondly, the unit works close to the bottom, limiting its reach to the survey zone, and the sonar used is outside the audible range for marine life. The Natural Resources Defense Council said that evidence is mounting that sonar can be deafening to certain sea creatures and is hurting them.  

Bedrock builds its own AUVs for less than $1 million each. High-tech software reliant on Wi-Fi sends data from the depths to the ship quickly. They can run for up to 12 hours on lithium-ion batteries.

While the accuracy isn't quite as strong as ship-based sonar, the teams can pinpoint objects within 7 feet with much speedier surveys. But wind developers, for example, may still need boat-based work for certain jobs, the report continued. 

"We can confirm that the data is of the quality that we're targeting, as well as identify potential targets that we want to investigate further in near real time," Mah said in the story.  

Should we be digging miles beneath Earth's surface? No way 👎 Definitely 👍 Depends what it's for 🤔 Depends where we do it 🗺️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Worldwide offshore wind capacity continues to set benchmarks, especially in the North Sea. The Global Wind Energy Council stated that there's enough developed to power 73 million homes — and growing. So increased mapping will be needed for the rising sector. 

A study published in the Ocean & Coastal Management journal highlighted legitimate concerns about the impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems from turbine farms, concluding that further research should be conducted. As a boon, the Nature Conservancy spotlighted the opportunity to build massive amounts of fish habitat at turbine bases. 

In addition to cleaner wind, Bedrock has done work for the dirty oil and gas sectors as well as environmental assessments. Marine archaeology is another job order the team is ready to take, per the company website. 

Next up could be U.S. Navy duty, as the speedy readings impressed leadership. 

"They were kind of blown away," Mah told TechCrunch. 

Staying up to date on environmental issues facing our oceans — including wind development, sonar use, and pollution — can help you make informed decisions about which policies and companies to support. By investing in businesses that are working toward a better future, you can help these endeavors find success.

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