  The ability to navigate, search, and monitor dynamic marine environments such
as ports, deltas, tributaries, and rivers presents several challenges to both
human operated and autonomously operated surface vehicles. Human data
collection and monitoring is overly taxing and inconsistent when faced with
large coverage areas, disturbed environments, and potentially uninhabitable
situations. In contrast,the same missions become achievable with Autonomous
Surface Vehicles (ASVs)configured and capable of accurately maneuvering in such
environments. The two dynamic factors that present formidable challenges to
completing precise maneuvers in coastal and moving waters are currents and
winds. In this work, we present novel and inexpensive methods for sensing these
external forces, together with methods for accurately controlling an ASV in the
presence of such external forces. The resulting platform is capable of
deploying bathymetric and water quality monitoring sensors. Experimental
results in local lakes and rivers demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed
approach.
