Survey Updates Bathymetry Offshore French Guyana
Survey vessel Borda has left Brest, France, on 31 July 2013 for a hydrographic survey mission to French Guiana. The mission focuses on general bathymetric, tidal and current surveys for SHOM in order to update nautical charts to improve safety of navigation. The surveys will be conducted in areas that haven’t been surveyed but which are interesting for the states of the sea, pilots and the Navy of French Guiana. The data will also be applied to hydrodynamic models.
The coast of French Guiana stretches for about 380km and are characterised by the continental shelf, the nature of the floors which are mainly consisting of isolated rocks creating a turbidity of the waters. This variance of depths and coastal zones shows erosion by the movement of sediments of the Amazone and the dynamics of sea currents.
The mission of the Borda aims to actualise and complete the bathymetric knowledge in this area which is at the same time little explored and evaluating.
The mission is planned to last up to November 2013. The cruise leads the Borda also past Suriname and Brazil, already visited in 2002 by the Borda when sailing the last survey campaign of the SHOM in Guyana.
Image: Survey vessel Borda. Image courtesy: SHOM.
