Surveying with the CEESCOPE Singlebeam Echosounder in the Coldest Place on Earth
Surveying on the Antarctic continent presents significant challenges for any instrumentation, especially in the marine environment. As part of an Australian government initiative announced in 2018 to investigate the possibility of building the first concrete runway in Antarctica, a survey team were brought in to survey waters around Davis Station. The surveys were successfully completed using the CEESCOPE™ single beam echo sounder and CEE-TSF™ enhanced StarFish side scan package. Ease of use, reliability, and simplicity were the key factors.
Constructing a New Runway at Davis Station Antarctic Base
In 2018, the Australian government announced its intention to construct a new concrete runway at the Davis Station Antarctic base. Apart from the obvious logistical advantages of year-round access, the project is expected to result in wide scientific benefits such as higher resolution weather and climate models, and improved contributions to global sea levels studies. The runway would be the first paved runway on the continent.
As part of the project, an Antarctic survey team were called in to provide a combined single beam and side-scan sonar hydro-graphic surveys. The surveyors chose to use their Vessel of Opportunity (VOO) kits supplied by CEE HydroSystems, comprising a CEESCOPE™ “all in one” RTK-enabled echo sounder, the CEE-TSF™ enhanced StarFish side scan, the CEE-PACK™ super-rugged power pack, and a transducer mounting kit.
Image 1: Australian Antarctic base – Davis Station.
Bathymetric Survey with SInglebeam and Sidescan Sonars
The goal of the survey was to better understand the bathymetry close to the Davis Station base in order to assess the viability of constructing the runway. In particular, these surveys focused on the ability of landing craft to safety land and deliver supplies for the future construction of the aerodrome. The key to the Australian team’s equipment selection was the ability to mobilize easily on a very small boat, with equipment that was designed with the cold climate specifically in mind. There was no room for equipment failures.
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