New Hungarian Riverbed Survey Vessel
A new survey vessel named Garda, equipped with a multibeam echosounder, has been acquired as part of the FAIRway Danube project. Through the project, a new dedicated survey crew has been created at the North-Transdanubian Water Directorate (EDUVIZIG) that has learned the technology from the Seabed team. The goal of the FAIRway Danube project is to significantly increase the knowledge on shallow sections of the international Danube waterway, to optimize the fairway routing and to enable rehabilitation measures to be drafted.
The project has purchased a compact and high-resolution dual-head curved array bathymetric mapping system by NORBIT from Seabed BV. This all-in-one tightly integrated broadband multibeam turnkey solution offers high resolution bathymetry over a wide swath. The high-end sonar with globally leading GNSS/Inertial Navigation System embedded into the unit ensures fast and reliable mobilization and the highest quality sounding for installations in all conditions, according to the project team.
Danube
The entire Hungarian stretch of the Danube (rkm 1,811-1,433) is characterized as a free-flowing section that includes sections with an easily scouring riverbed. Therefore, surveys will be executed along the entire national stretch of the Hungarian Danube waterway, with specific focus on the critical locations and the Hungarian-Slovakian section. In addition to EDUVIZIG, there are two other directorates along the Danube where the survey will take place. Qinsy will be used for raw data collection and surveying, and post-processing will be done in Qimera and ArcGIS. Measurements will be corrected and filtered and the surface model produced in Qimera, then the final formatting of the surface will be done in ArcGIS. The survey results – shallow section information – will be published on the FIS portal and on the Hungarian General Directorate of Water Management website.
