Multibeam Advisory Committee

SKQ202008S Planning Overview

• The University of Alaska’s UNOLS vessel R/V Sikuliaq(SKQ) is equipped with Kongsberg Maritime EM302 and EM710 multibeam echosounders and a Seapath320 positioning / attitude system
• The Multibeam Advisory Committee (MAC) was asked to assist with Quality Assurance Testing (QAT) of the ship’s EM302 and EM710 ahead of the 2020 field season; due to widespread travel restrictions, MAC personnel provided remote support for line planning and data analysis from shore

Executive Summary

1. Calibrations (‘patch tests’) were planned for the EM710 and EM122 multibeam echosounders on R/V Neil Armstrong in the vicinity of the continental shelf break south of WHOI for opportunistic testing in 2019. These tests were scheduled for AR41 in November; due to elevated sea state, AR41 was shortened and the EM122 calibration was removed from the schedule. After review of the system geometry and POS MV GAMS antenna calibration, the EM710 patch test was performed amid other science goals in the condensed schedule.
   

The R/V Neil Armstrong is a new vessel operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) equipped with Kongsberg Maritime (KM) EM122 (12 kHz) and EM710 (70-100 kHz) multibeam echosounders. The hardware installation, calibration, software configuration, and performance of these systems were evaluated during a sea acceptance trial involving WHOI, KM, Multibeam Advisory Committee (MAC), and NOAA Office of Coast Survey personnel.

The R/V Sikuliaq is equipped with Kongsberg Maritime (KM) EM302 (30 kHz) and EM710 (70-100 kHz) multibeam echosounders and a Seapath 320 positioning and attitude system with C-NAV DGNSS auxiliary input. These systems were reviewed by the Multibeam Advisory Committee (MAC) and personnel from NOAA, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), and Kongsberg Maritime (KM) during sea acceptance trials (SAT) in August 2014.