A project to develop a mini underwater sensor has secured £390,000 in funding.

The grant comes from the Natural Environment Research Council's Future Marine Research Infrastructure programme.

Experts at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton will lead the project.

The new SixSense package will be tested on autonomous underwater vehicles like the Autosub Long Range and Slocum Glider platforms.

This miniature sensor will measure six key parameters: conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pressure, pH, and Eh.

These measurements support Essential Ocean and Climate Variables.

The sensors, which are solid-state, low-power, and do not require reagents, will be simpler to deploy.

They also have the advantage of needing no moving parts to maintain.

Dr Andrew Morris, project lead, said: "Sampling our world’s ocean is a formidable challenge, yet understanding more about the marine environment is critical for understanding a wide range of issues that can have local but also global impacts.

"Marine autonomy is a way to monitor more locations for longer than has previously been possible. As the platform technology advances so must the sensors available to them to make best use of new capabilities to deliver more data."

The SixSense sensor package will enhance the range of measurements that single underwater robotic platforms can take.

By fitting into a smaller space, the new sensor will create more room for other instruments in the underwater vehicles.

The increased data-gathering capabilities of these platforms, whether used individually or in groups, will assist scientists in understanding the ocean and its changes better.

During testing, three sensors will be deployed on a single Autosub Long Range vehicle, each in a different location.

These will be verified alongside traditional instruments.

The NOC operates the National Marine Facilities' National Marine Equipment Pool, where these vehicles are kept.

The funding will cover the development of the sensors, their integration into platforms, and subsequent testing.