A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicate ...

, and may be designed for the purpose, modified for the purpose or temporarily put into the service as a vessel of opportunity, and may be crewed, remotely operated, or autonomous. The size and equipment vary to suit the task and availability.

Role

The task of survey vessels is to map the bottom, and measure the characteristics of the

benthic zone The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning " ...

, full water column, and surface for the purpose of: *

hydrography Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the prima ...

, the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans and other natural bodies of water, and the prediction of their change over time, for the primary purpose of safety of navigation and in support of other activities associated with those bodies of water, * general oceanography, the scientific study of the oceans, * mapping of marine habitats as part of the process of assessing the state of the ecology, * measurement of environmental impact of natural and anthropogenic changes, * planning of marine salvage, the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty, * dredging, the excavation of material from underwater, to recover materials or to alter the bottom profile, usually for navigational of construction purposes, * underwater construction, which is industrial construction in an underwater environment, * coastal engineering, the branch of civil engineering concerned with construction at or near the coast, and the development of the coast itself, *

maritime archaeology Maritime archaeology (also known as marine archaeology) is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, s ...

, the study of human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, * underwater mining and extraction of petroleum.

Survey equipment

Typically, modern survey vessels are equipped with one or more of the following equipment: *

Satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location ( longitude, latitude, and altitude/ elevation) to hig ...

to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning, * Single beam sonar for the measurement of underwater physical and biological components, * Multibeam sonar to accurately and efficiently map the seabed *

Side-scan sonar Side-scan sonar (also sometimes called side scan sonar, sidescan sonar, side imaging sonar, side-imaging sonar and bottom classification sonar) is a category of sonar system that is used to efficiently create an image of large areas of the se ...

to efficiently create relief images of large areas of the sea floor. * Towed magnetometer for measuring the Earth's magnetic field, in geophysical surveys, to detect magnetic anomalies, * Reflection seismology equipment for subsurface profiling.

Seismic source A seismic source is a device that generates controlled seismic energy used to perform both reflection and refraction seismic surveys. A seismic source can be simple, such as dynamite, or it can use more sophisticated technology, such as a spe ...

s include air guns, sparkers and boomers. * Bottom sampling equipment such as Van Veen grab sampler, Box corer, Epibenthic sled or other

core sampling A core sample is a cylindrical section of (usually) a naturally-occurring substance. Most core samples are obtained by drilling with special drills into the substance, such as sediment or rock, with a hollow steel tube, called a core drill. The h ...

equipment. * CTD sondes to measure the electrical conductivity, temperature, and pressure of seawater *

Inertial measurement unit An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is an electronic device that measures and reports a body's specific force, angular rate, and sometimes the orientation of the body, using a combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes, and sometimes magnetomet ...

Unmanned and autonomous survey vessels

Unmanned surface vehicles (USVs; also known as unmanned surface vessels or in some cases autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs), uncrewed surface vessels, or colloquially, drone ships) are boats or ships that operate on the surface of the water without a crew. USVs operate with various levels of autonomy, from simple remote control, to autonomous COLREGs compliant navigation. An autonomous survey vessel is an unmanned vessel fitted with survey equipment and capable of operating without human supervision while performing survey work, either uploading the data in real time, or at pre-programmed stages, or on a remote command. Autonomous underwater vehicles set up for survey work are a subclass of autonomous survey vessels that operate underwater. unmanned survey vessels are usually relatively small and therefore economical to acquire and operate, and can be sent to areas too hazardous for a larger or crewed vessel, as well as for extensive and time-consuming but routine surveys. USVs are valuable in oceanography, as they are more capable than moored or drifting weather buoys, but far cheaper than the equivalent

weather ship A weather ship, or ocean station vessel, was a ship stationed in the ocean for surface and upper air meteorological observations for use in weather forecasting. They were primarily located in the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans, reportin ...

s and

research vessels A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicate ...

, and more flexible than commercial-ship contributions, and, with solar cells to power their electronics, can have months of marine persistence. Powered USVs are a powerful tool for use in hydrographic survey. Using a small USV in parallel to traditional survey vessels as a 'force-multiplier' can double survey coverage and reduce time on-site.

History

References

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IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operatio ...

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{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811002903/http://www.ece.stevens-tech.edu/sd/archive/07F-08S/websites/grp14/documents/Grp14_Brochure.pdf , date=2010-08-11 {{cite magazine, url=https://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/05/wave-glider-crosses-pacific/all/1/, title=Robot Boats Survive Epic Voyage Across the Pacific — So Far, date=23 May 2012, magazine=WIRED, access-date=24 February 2016

Role

Survey equipment

Unmanned and autonomous survey vessels

History

References

See also