New current profiler: Aquadopp Z-cell

In the new Aquadopp Z-Cell, Nortek has extended the profiling range by introducing a "Cell Zero". This new feature is generated by an extra set of horizontal transducers for a total of 6 ceramic elements. The transducers operate at a different frequency (2 MHz) and provide the 2D current velocity at the level of the instrument.

The near-instrument data loss in traditional current profilers comes from the combination of mounting height, the electroacoustic blanking and the offset of the first measurement cell. In many applications this means that valuable and interesting information about the ocean current is lost. The Z-cell solves this problem by measuring the horizontal velocity at the level of the instrument.

The Aquadopp Z-cell can be mounted in the frame on the bottom or in a surface buoy. Preliminary studies show that the surface current can be quite different from what is normally observed 2-3 m below the surface. The addition of an extra cell is thus not merely "nice to have" but can have a profound impact on how we view and analyze currents.

C-Boom 300m 600 Volts 100Joules

Operating from 400 to 600V at 100Joules per shot the C-Boom continues to perform in deeper waters beyond the original design and expectations.

The C-Boom features a combined power, trigger and tow cable that is only 14mm in diameter and neutrally buoyant, a small 19" 4U rack lightweight onboard power supply/trigger interface and a very compact highly efficient towed catamaran featuring energy storage, energy discharge control and boomer transmission plate.  External power requirements are 110/220V shared from a common power source; ships supply or small 1.8KVA petrol generator.

Data examples collected by EGS (Asia) Ltd in 120m of water off the North West Shelf in Australia had set an operating depth record for C-Boom.  Typical geology for the North West Shelf area is massive sub-horizontal sequences of calcareous sand inter-layered with weak calcarenites.  A combination of C-Boom source and C-Phone receiver were operated with penetration 60m through the course material and produced clear, consistent and interpretable seismic profiles.

Very recently C-Products received sub-bottom data from group company EGS International Ltd. The C-Boom sub-bottom profiler system on this occasion was operated from a 19m twin screw tug boat at sea water depths of around 270m with penetration a further 50m.  Data was logged using C-Products C-View acquisition and processing software.  The data presented has had minimal processing of band pass filtering and TVG correction with seabed tracking.  

C-Boom shallow water survey objectives.

The design requirements of the C-Boom were to reduce weight, increase portability, improve system safety, and achieve increased resolution and higher quality data in shallow waters from 1m to 100m

The achievements are:

• Safer lower operating voltage
• Lightweight small diameter combined tow & power cable
• Deployment without ‘A' frames or winches
• Simple discrete modules
• Storage in small industry sized freight cases or suitcases
• Added portability of the system when freighting or hand carried
• High resolution 10-20cm with an operating center frequency of around 1760Hz

With the design, operation and construction being so different from traditional and conventional high voltage boomer systems, UK and US patents were sought and granted.  Patent numbers US 6,771,565B2 and GB2385920

Having achieved the design requirements the acoustic properties of the C-Boom have continued to excel all expectations for the system resulting in 1 to 300m operating depths.

The system is now established as a safe low voltage alternative for the traditional high voltage boomer systems currently operated in the industry.  The system has proven extremely popular with academic institutes; universities and government geological surveys, commercial survey companies and survey equipment hire companies.

Autonomous Offshore Support

Offshore engineering is perhaps THE engineering discipline where knowledge is crucial and uncertainty will prove costly. The advent of the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) has made knowledge accessible at low cost and with great efficiency.

The SeaOtter MK II, from ATLAS MARIDAN, is adding new facets to offshore engineering. This AUV is capable of round-the-clock operation on major engineering projects as a tool to support progress evaluation. Equipped with a wide range of sensors, including sonars and camera, the vehicle is able to survey an area or an object and provide knowledge and evidence on which to make informed decisions. In addition to its survey capabilities, the Sea Otter MK II's advanced hovering functionality permits position keeping.

Each of these roles includes the generic collection of ensonified seabed data, but also include very specific payload (data collection) instruments.

HydroStar 4900 Survey Echo Sounder

L-3 ELAC Nautik‘s modular survey echo sounder HydroStar 4900 is the new generation of medium and deep sea echo sounders capable of measuring up to 10.000 meters water depth and the state-of-the-art tool for precise and reliable survey tasks.

The HydroStar 4900 unit is available as stand alone system or integrated in a 19'' rack. According to DIN dimensional standards the design also allows the integration into existing navigation or survey systems. HydroStar 4900 will be operated with up to four frequencies and complies with the regulations for echo sounders issued by most of the International Classification Authorities.

Special features

• Designed for frequencies from 12 kHz to 1 MHz
• Digital signal processing
• Advanced bottom finding algorithms
• Graphical color TFT-display
• Alarm Mode
• Internal data storage
• Network connection possibility
• Recording of depth data over time scale
• Interfaces for log, GPS, ECDIS, sound velocity, heave sensor
• Minimal size and weight, low power consumption
• Integrated test system (BITE) and software guided failure analysis

Seafloor Systems HydroLite-TM™

The Hydrolite-TM should be included in every Survey and Engineering company's standard equipment kit for hydrographic surveying. Developed to meet the requirements of the U.S. Army Tactical Dive Teams, the rugged, wireless HydroLite-TM looks and feels like your traditional survey instrument. It quickly measures and logs depths more accurately than standard systems, making fast work of ponds, rivers, lakes, and more.

Adaptable to any vessel, this lightweight equipment transfers data through wireless technology and meets IP-65 standards. If extra protection from the environment is required it comes with an optional ruggedized shipping case. Other options are Coast Guard Beacon receiver, PC data acquisition, digital bar check and portable tide gauge.

Specifications Echosounder

- Frequency 200-kHz

- Beam width 9-degrees

- Ping Rate 6 Hz

- Depth Accuracy 1cm/0.1% of depth

Specifications GPS

-Accuracy < 1-meter

-Channels 12

-Integrated Real-time SBAS

-Update rate 1Hz

-Interfaces Bluetooth, Serial

SevenCs established ENC Tools Family will grow!

SevenCs famous ENC Tools are already established and proven as one of the most cost-effective and easy to use software suites available on the market today for low/middle volume and specialist digital and paper chart production. Now, SevenCs new ENC Control Center takes our existing software tools to the next level in order to create the SevenCs Integrated Production Suite (SCIPS).

The ENC Control Center manages the hydrographic chart production tasks and workflows, utilizing the existing ENC Tools e.g. ENC Designer or ENC Analyzer. In addition, for customers with higher volumes of data or more complicated production environments, the ENC Control Center acts as the lynchpin for the integration of ENC Tools with the nautical and bathymetric database solution of Atlis, one of the HydroTeam partners.

OICclass

OICclass^TM is a powerful tool for analysis and classification of all sidescan and swath bathymetry datasets, using data-driven image segmentation and ‘region growing' algorithms.  Using schemes that rely on pattern recognition, OICclass^TM supports user-guided and unsupervised classification to define natural boundaries in acoustic seafloor imagery.

QTC Sideview

QTC SIDEVIEW automatically divides a sidescan image into classes based on image texture and intensity. Quality control is applied by disregarding data associated with man-made objects, depression angles out of range, or insufficient positioning data. A patented process is used to compensate the image for the effects of depression angle on backscatter. Images are re-sampled to the most widely used sample rate in the data, and gains are restored to a common time-variable gain. Classes typically include material type and features. The classes are assembled into a catalogue and rapidly generate a layer of information to complement bathymetry and other data types. The software adds value to traditional charting and interpretation methods, saving time and improving objectivity.