BOATY MCBOATFACE’S FIRST ANTARCTIC MISSION. Annalisa sent me this article from the Guardian by Nicola Slawson about the further career of Boaty McBoatface. Boaty McBoatface got its name as the result of a competition sponsored by the British Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to suggest and vote on names for its new polar research ship. The name “Boaty McBoatface” won a huge majority, but the NERC rejected the election results and named the polar research ship after Sir David Attenborough.
As a consolation prize, the name “Boaty McBoatface” was given to a small yellow robot submarine. Boaty is a new type of autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), which will be able to collect data under ice at depths of up to 6,000 meters. Boaty’s first assignment will be to make measurements in the abyssal zone, which this wikipedia entry says “remains in perpetual darkness and never receives daylight. These regions are also characterised by continuous cold and lack of nutrients.”