Yellow submarine landed at Ullapool
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A mini yellow submarine has been recovered from the Atlantic and landed at Ullapool after suffering a malfunction.
The 7ft-long £150,000 unmanned machine was carrying out vital ocean measurements in relation to climate change and being operated by scientists from the Oban-based Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS).
It has now been deposited by a Spanish fishing boat at the Wester Ross port and inspected by surprised and fascinated young members of Ullapool Sea Savers – including sisters Caillin and Maia Patterson.
Members of the Sea Savers happened to be visiting the harbour with Noel Hawkins of the Scottish Wildlife Trust when the sub was dropped off.
He said: "We heard a Spanish fishing boat was unloading and had brought ashore an item of interest.
"We went for a look and discovered what we thought was an underwater drone of some sort. After seeing contact information on it for the people at the National Oceanographic Centre we posted on social media about the find and alerted SAMS to its landed whereabouts."
A spokesman for SAMS said its scientists had deployed the Ocean Glider robot into the North East Atlantic. It had reached a distance 650kms (403.9 miles) and was on its way back when it developed problems.
The vehicle, which can dive to 1000 metres (3280.8 feet), is not propelled but moves by adjusting its weight. It also has a battery.
The spokesman said: "We think it developed problems when it encountered severe eddies. It has an inflatable bladder for flotation and it can be used for months.
"We notified vessels of its position and it was recovered several hundred kms off the Outer Hebrides. We are glad to get it back."
SAMS is at the cutting edge of research into climate change in the ocean.
The ocean glider, named Denebola, was deployed between Barra and Coll.
SAMS ocean systems support scientist Dr Emily Venables said: “There are big currents and swirling eddies of water in the northeast Atlantic, which the gliders can sometimes struggle to make progress against. The pilots tried hard - via satellite communications - to guide Denebola around them, but she repeatedly got pushed back west, draining a lot of power from the battery on each attempt.
“She had already collected a huge amount of data during her mission, which included 1030 dives to a maximum of 1000 metres. Although we already had the data safely backed up, we did not want to lose her, as there are more missions planned for her in the future, so we are very grateful for the assistance we got in retrieving her from the water.
“On this particular mission, Denebola was collecting hydrographic data for a long-term time series monitoring ocean currents. These currents supply heat to the Arctic, and are part of the global ocean circulation that our climate is so dependent on."
