An improved deep-water multibeam echosounder for R/V Roger Revelle (AGOR 24)
Abstract
We propose to upgrade and improve the sensing capability aboard the ONR Global Class research vessel Roger Revelle (AGOR 24) during the ship s upcoming midlife refit by installing scientific instrumentation that ONR-supported researchers need to meet their current and future research goals.The proposed mapping system will strongly benefit a broad number of current and anticipated ONR research programs. ONR experiments involve moorings, free-swimming vehicles, over-the side instruments, and near-bottom cabled instruments in areas where detailed seafloor bathymetry and backscatter imagery is vital for operational success and scientific progress.Recently-completed and ongoing examples include ASIAEX, NLIWI, ITOP, QPE, PhilEx, IWISE, ASIRI, FLEAT, PISTON and MISO-BOB, with similar needs anticipated for future DRIs. The proposed echosounder will also strongly benefit the educational missions of SIO and ONR, by its routine use during SIO class deployments, student-led projects supported by the UC Ship Funds Program, and ONR-supported educational projects such as In The Footsteps of Roger Revelle.A deep-water multibeam echosounders is a primary instrument for many ONR-supported users of global class research vessels, and a secondary instrument for most others, and as such is a vital tool. Roger Revelle???s existing hardware has reached the end of its service life, and impedance measurements of the transmit array show that individual elements are failing in a manner that is consistent with progressive age-related failure indicative of impending end-of-life. The array must be replaced. The timing of this request is intended to coincide with the upcoming midlife refit of Roger Revelle, during which we intend to install a gondola that will house the ship???s acoustic transducers in order to improve sonar performance. The gondola we intend to install aboard will house the deep-water transducer arrays and most of the ship???s other acoustic sensors, and thus will require that the existing transmit and receive arrays, and all associated cabling and housings, be removed from their existing locations in the hull and moved into the gondola. For this reason, it is an ideal time to replace the deep-water multibeam hardware to take advantage of cost and production efficiencies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 10, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141812381
Entities
People
- Bruce Appelgate
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, San Diego