TrackLink 5000HA USBL System for Israel
LinkQuest, USA, recently delivered a TrackLink 5000HA long-range USBL acoustic tracking system to Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research (IOLR). After delivery, the system was immediately installed and implemented successfully by IOLR. The TrackLink 5000HA system is a long-range USBL tracking system capable of reaching a range of 5,000 metres.
IOLR is a non-profit governmental research institute that primarily monitors and conducts research of the marine and fresh water environments. Currently, IOLR plans to use the TrackLink 5000HA USBL system with towed geophysical equipment in the research of the Levant continental margin (SE Mediterranean), especially assessing the risks of submarine slides on the continental slope. The geophysical equipment will also be used by the Israeli universities and students for conducting their own research.
The TrackLink 5000HA system will also be used with IOLR's sampling equipment of the water column and the shallow sub-bottom. It will be connected to CTD, Box core, Piston core and towed nets. These types of sampling activities are mainly conducted during IOLR's yearly monitoring studies of the water quality, marine organisms and sub-surface of the Levant margin.
Currently the TrackLink 5000HA system is installed on a pole (see picture) on IOLR's old R.V. Shikmona. In the near future, it will be installed in the hull on IOLR's new 39 metre research vessel and be also used with an ROV and AUVs that the School of Marine Sciences in the University of Haifa plans to purchase. With advanced Broadband Acoustic Spread Spectrum technology and highly accurate and robust field performance, LinkQuest's TrackLink systems are the world's best selling USBL positioning systems, widely used by research organisations, universities, government agencies and commercial companies worldwide.
Image: the TrackLink 5000HA system mounted on a pole. Image courtesy: IOLR.
