Who will benefit from the Galileo High Accuracy Service?
On 24 January 2023, the European Union declared the Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS) operational for testing, and it is scheduled to become fully operational in 2024. This free signal adds precise...
Navigating the rising tide
Experts are extremely concerned about the temperature of the Pacific Ocean, as the sea surface temperature this year was the warmest since satellite measurements began. This can have major consequenc...
Pioneering ocean mapping for a better world
Delving into the mysteries of the planet’s final frontier – the ocean – has long captivated human curiosity, with the origins of ocean exploration dating back to 5,000 BC. But even today, the oc...
Pushing subsea boundaries with hybrid AUV/ROV
Combining AUV and ROV capabilities in a modular, hybrid unit improves functionality, while subsea docking technology expands the operational window of such a vehicle, allowing it to carry out multiple...
North Sea wrecks: Toxic legacies of war
Some 290 shipwrecks lie in the Belgian part of the North Sea alone, with probably more than 1,000 in the entire North Sea, many of them silent witnesses to the two world wars. Until recently, the envi...
From seabed to cloud: ground-truthing seagrass data
The ocean plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change, yet we lack detailed information on over 95% of the seafloor. This article explores planblue’s solution to accelerate time-to-data and th...
The search for the Montevideo Maru
Fugro has utilized its cutting-edge hydrographic technology in Australia to locate the final resting place of the Montevideo Maru, which sank in 1942 with more than 1,200 people on board. The sinking ...
An automated data processing approach to boulder detection
Rapid technological advancements in AI, machine learning and automation urge the offshore industry to keep up to date with innovations and use them to make data acquisition and data processing more ef...
Shallow seabed mapping based on airborne Lidar bathymetry
This article presents a novel methodological approach to understand and assess the suitability of airborne Lidar bathymetry for the automatic classification and mapping of the seabed. This solution a...
Exploring shallow lagoons with USV mapping technology
Unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) are increasingly being used for the mapping and management of shallow-water environments such as lagoons, rivers and estuaries, due to their economic and ecological be...
Bathymetric data optimizes hydropower generation in Switzerland
The acquisition of bathymetric and sidescan data is essential for the Swiss energy company Axpo to maintain its hydropower infrastructure, especially as debris that glaciers dump into Switzerland’s ...
From seafloor mapping to clean energy: hydrography’s key role in a sustainable world
Renewable energy and the pivotal role of hydrography in offshore development take centre stage in a captivating interview with Professor Ed Hill, chief executive of the National Oceanography Centre (N...
Investigating change at historic shipwreck sites
Shipwrecks are an integral part of our underwater landscape. According to UNESCO, there are three million wrecks worldwide, and these create various marine spatial planning challenges. To address thes...
Overcoming challenges in Alaska’s landslide risk assessment
Alaska’s history of devastating landslides and tsunamis creates challenges in assessing communities’ risk without water depth data at the base of unstable slopes. To address this, the US Geologica...