Category Archives: Hydro/Marine
Finding Fish Hotspots
Marine scientists bring multiple technologies together to locate reef fish aggregations, working towards healthy reefs and island economies. The livelihoods of tropical island communities depend on the vitality of reef fishes, either directly through recreational and commercial fishing or indirectly through healthy coral reef ecosystems that support eco-tourism. Yet, over the last several decades, the...
Hydrography
Above: Corporate social responsibility helps to ensure safety of the environment at a complex interactive drilling operation. Timely Delivery of Data and Products, Marine Spatial Planning, Increased Trusted Partner Resources Here’s a frameworkfor hydrography’s future. Start with the vision of a survey fleet, assisted by unmanned platforms, permanent seafloor installations, remote sensing, and trusted partner...
Mapping the USS Arizona
A unique pro bono collaboration creates the first-ever integration of multiple technologies for mapping a historic monument. The battleship USS Arizona was bombed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The ship exploded and sank, killing 1,177 officers and crew. It now lies at the bottom of the harbor. In 1961, Elvis Presley...
Capturing the Bluestone Dam
Above: Bluestone Dam is a concrete gravity dam located just upstream of the confluence of the New and Greenbrier Rivers near Hinton, West Virginia. Editor’s note: Because the Bluestone Dam is critical infrastructure, the Corps cannot display images of its insides. In fact, security is one of the key reasons it didn’t contract out the...
Survey. Dredge. Repeat: Keeping the Columbia River Navigable
As the skipper of Galileo 3, a 30-foot sailboat on the Columbia River, I tell my crew that I am comfortable with 15 feet of water under the keel, get nervous when it drops below 10 feet, and take immediate action if it drops below 6 feet. That’s because I cannot constantly monitor my chart...
ROPOS: ROV Cool
I recently accompanied a film crew working on a documentary on maritime technologies to the NOAA facility in Newport, Oregon to catch a glimpse of what is widely celebrated as the “coolest ROV in the world.” The Remotely Operated Platform for Ocean Sciences (ROPOS) is the flagship research ROV of the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility...