Pearl Harbor survey
US based Deep Ocean Engineering has announced its recent participation in the first comprehensive multibeam survey of the remains of ‘USS Arizona’ and ‘USS Utah’ in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Team members from Deep Ocean Engineering, Inc, R2Sonic, Autodesk, and eTrac traveled to Oahu to conduct these historic surveys as a gift to the National Park Service.
In the Months leading up to this survey, R2Sonic contacted Deep Ocean to utilize their H-1750 USV as an unmanned platform to operate their SONIC 2020 multibeam. Typically, these surveys are completed utilizing a 2-3 manned vessel with an affixed multibeam but the survey site above the USS Arizona has a height restriction where a manned vessel cannot navigate. The memorial building that straddles the USS Arizona makes for a low ceiling above the water at various tides. Couple that with the shallow depth of water above the sunken ship and you have a very tight set of survey vehicle characteristics.
The survey’s goals were reached and 100% high resolution sonar coverage was obtained of both sunken warships to replace the artists’ rendition surveys from some 30 years prior. This will yield high quality measurements of the ship that can be repeated over time and from there, changes such as shifting, settling, and coral growth can be evaluated, something that was absent from the surveys from 30 years ago. Not only will it provide a long term monitoring baseline, but a 3D scale model of the USS Arizona will be created and used for display purposes at the memorial site.
By Jake Frith
Related Articles
MARINE CONSTRUCTION
POWER & PROPULSION
ENVIRONMENT