Biggest Marine Survey in the World
iXSea announced the awarding of a contract by the ‘Marine Institute of Ireland’ for the supply of navigational and positioning instruments which includes a number of OCTANS and GAPS products for use in the worlds biggest seabed survey programme.
The Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS) has covered an area of over 450,000 Sq Km, the largest survey of its scale to date and includes areas which have never before been surveyed. Ireland's territorial seabed reaches more than 600 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean to waters of more than 4,500 metres in depth. The survey which is being funded by the Irish Government, has cost €33M to date. The primary deliverable from the survey is a multi-beam sonar dataset that will serve as a reference for future marine research, policy, protection and industrial initiatives. A comprehensive series of bathymetric and geological maps (more than 300) is being produced. The INSS is managed by the Geological Survey of Ireland in cooperation with the Marine Institute. Primarily a multi-beam sonar survey, this acoustic technique is providing detailed bathymetry data and knowledge of the nature of the seabed and its overlying sediment. Magnetic, sub-bottom profiler and gravity techniques are helping to evaluate the nature and structure of the deeper geology.
iXSea’s GAPS products will be deployed on Irelands National Research Vessels, the Celtic Explorer and the Celtic Voyager. The Celtic Explorer, Ireland’s deep-sea research vessel has been kitted out with the highest international-standard multi-beam sonar surveying technologies and will be equipped with iXSea’s OCTANS III.
