Complete sea floor mapping of Apalachicola Bay using the RAFAEL to map areas deeper than 2 m and the ASV IRIS for mapping areas shallower than 2 m.
Location
Apalachicola Bay, Florida, United States, Gulf of Mexico, North America, North Atlantic;
Summary
This field season marked the second year of surveying in Apalachicola Bay. The goal of the mapping project was to provide an updated map of the distribution of oyster beds in the bay. Continuous coverage sidescan sonar imagery and bathymetric data were used to achieve this goal, and high-resolution chirp profiles were used to define the geologic framework upon which the oyster beds are set. The bay is shallow (average depth 2.5 m), and the crests of most of the oyster beds are in water depths less than 1 m. Consequently the entire area could not be surveyed using the RAFAEL. IRIS, the newly acquired ASV, was used to map the shallow areas. This was the first use of this system, and it proved quite successful. This year's field operation was conducted during late May and June. The RAFAEL collected data during 25 days of the 29-day field program and IRIS collected data during 14 days. Aboard RAFAEL RTK GPS navigation, Klein sidescan sonar imagery, Submetrix interferometric bathymetry, and chirp sub-bottom profiles were collected in digital form along 1492 km of trackline. IRIS collected RTK GPS navigation, EdgeTech sidescan sonar imagery, single-beam bathymetry, and chirp sub-bottom data in digital form along 148 km of tracks. From the two platforms data (all in digital form) were collected along 1640 km of survey lines.
Comments
Original Center People field contained: Barry Irwin (boat captain); Charles Worley (electronics technician on RAFAEL); Emile Bergeron (electronics technician for IRIS); Thomas O'Brien (electronics technician for IRIS); Jane Denny (data processor); Brian Andrews (data processor); Dave Twichell (chief scientist).
Project = Apalachicola Bay Habitat Mapping, Apalachicola Bay Habitat Mapping
