Seabed Online

Maps and images of seabed habitat, geology and biological data in the seas around North-West Europe can now be viewed online. This resource has been created by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, in a five nation project called, The Development of a Framework for Mapping European Seabed Habitats, or MESH. Important to the project was discovering more about the processes that determine the existence of certain habitats in a particular location. These habitats are defined by a combination of unique conditions such as current, depth of water, temperature and the rock structure under the seafloor. Understanding and classifying this... (read more)

2008-01-10 09:02:14

Seabed Mapping Solutions

IXSEA launched its new seabed mapping brochure at Ocean Business 09 in Southampton today, which includes the new ECHOES 1500 Deep Tow sub-bottom profiler. "The launch of ECHOES 1500 Deep Tow at Ocean Business, a step change in sub-bottom profiler technology, demonstrates the diversity of the IXSEA product range," said IXSEA's Offshore Director Richard Parkinson. "DELPH is a powerful suite of real-time data acquisition and fully integrated processing and interpretation tools. While SHADOWS, the fourth generation side scan sonar, provides ‘more pixels per hour'." (read more)

2009-04-01 12:18:50

Seabed Classification Capability

Chesapeake Technology has added seabed classification to SonarWiz 5. The new functionality offers a fast and easy way to classify sea floor sediment, such as gravel and sand, for use in a wide range of sonar mapping missions including habitat studies, dredging projects, pipe and cable laying projects, and at-sea platform construction. For the military, for example, it is extremely important to know the bottom types that will allow mines or underwater improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to be buried easily and therefore hidden from side-scanning sonar. The classification map will enable military planners to select a route that avoids areas... (read more)

2011-03-01 03:33:44

Seabed Resources and Hydrography

Exploration of seabed resources using bathymetry and geology

The seabed of the Dutch sector of the North Sea is one of most densely sampled marine areas in the world. Sampling started in the mid-1960s with the exploration of fill sand in the coastal zone. Since that time, a reconnaissance mapping programme of the entire territory has been carried out in close co-operation with the North Sea Directorate of the Dutch Ministry of Public Works and Water Management, and the Hydrographic Office (HO) of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The sample spacing varies much from north to south and from east to west, reflecting the differing relevance of various areas... (read more)

2008-01-01 01:00:00

Seabed Surveys for EMEC

UK-based subsea services company Fathoms Ltd recently undertook two comprehensive surveys for the European Marine Renewable Energy Test Centre (EMEC) based in Orkney. The results of these surveys have enabled EMEC Ltd to extend its capabilities in the marine renewables sector, generating electricity from devices moored to the seabed. Fathoms has recently expanded its operations to include work for clients such as Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (to detect and recover radioactive particles from the seabed) and the Channel Coastal Observatory (National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton) collecting data to be used in a new coastal model being built to assist with... (read more)

2010-10-14 12:17:27

Seabed Sampling Investigation System

In 2008, GC Rieber Shipping took a 40% strategic stake on a geotechnical survey company - Bluestone Offshore. From start-up to operational, the team based in Singapore has come a long way in the past two years between purchasing their first vessel, initiating the retrofitting work with ST Marine early November and hiring key staff with extensive experience in Health & Safety, drilling, geotechnical and laboratory analysis. The conversion work is upgrading the Bluestone Topaz into a dedicated DP geotechnical vessel and is focused on three main areas: shift the moon pool to the center of the vessel,... (read more)

2008-12-19 12:00:00

Mapping Northwest UK Seabed

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA, UK) and six partner organisations launched the Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland Hydrographic Survey (INIS Hydro) project at the Belfast Harbour Commissioners Office on Monday 4th July 2011. INIS Hydro, which receives GBP3.2 million from the European Union's INTERREG IVA Programme, will produce a standardised hydrographic survey specification and accurate high-resolution bathymetric datasets for seven important seabed areas to the east of Ireland/Northern Ireland and off the west coast of Scotland. A total of 1400 km2 will be surveyed by the partner organisation's research vessels fitted with multibeam sonar technology. High-quality bathymetric information... (read more)

2011-07-04 10:48:21

Klaipeda Harbour Seabed Mapped

The Lithuanian Coastal Research and Planning Institute (CORPI) has recently completed the first ever 100% coverage survey of Klaipeda Harbour, Lithuania, using the Kongsberg GeoAcoustics GeoSwath Plus COMPACT system. This EU-funded project was carried out during the implementation of the Sustainable Management of Contaminated Sediments (SMOCS) project, developed under the framework of the Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007-2013. The work focuses on the mapping of contaminated sediments in the modern port development area. Full-scale, shallow water multibeam, sidescan sea floor imagery and seismic mapping were carried out by CORPI's staff in order to gain a full understanding of the morphology... (read more)

2013-08-19 11:20:47

Party Time for Seabed

Dutch supplier for the hydrographic, dredging and offshore industry, Seabed, celebrated on 1 April their first five years in business. During these five years Seabed has grown from three up to fifteen professionals and from 20 to about 40 different products and solutions. On their stand, they hosted a party that was well attended. Seabed specialises in technical services aimed at the development and implementation of both hardware and software. Besides a highly qualified staff, the company offers a wide range of high-quality instruments. Seabed offers a large range of GPS equipment and utilities as well as a broad... (read more)

2009-04-02 12:44:55

Seabed Soil Testing System

Schilling Robotics, and Gregg Drilling and Testing have delivered a new Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) system for deep-water seabed soil testing. Gregg is commencing in-water testing of the system today in Long Beach Harbor (CA, USA). Once harbor testing is complete, the system will then be sent to work offshore in June 2009. Schilling supplied the control system and hydraulics for the Gregg-designed CPT system. The control system consists of electrical and communications components, subsea hydraulics, along with topside hardware, console components, and advanced component monitoring and diagnostic software. Gregg's CPT is performed using a cylindrical penetrometer with... (read more)

2009-04-21 04:31:50