auv-ee,
A couple of very uninformed questions (hence the need to ask).
The oil industry has a fleet of ROVs like the 12 that are working on the Gulf spill. They're working at just shy of a mile down now. Is that their limit, or can they work deep enough to be effective at the AF-447 site?
I realize that they're tethered and that would probably add more difficulty. Anything insurmountable?
I guess I've been thinking along the lines of a couple of ships controlling a handful of these each for a very deliberate visual search that, if nothing else might rule out areas.