Hydrographic Measurement System

• Subject Area: Geophysics and Geodesy
• Term: Funded in 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 496825297

Since decades, multi-sensor systems are applied in hydrography classically with echosounder and positioning systems to acquire bathymetry. With the latest developments in sensor and computer technology, such system have been advanced into complex multi-sensor systems. The technical enhancement have resulted in a broader field of applications for such hydrographic measurement systems within the recent years. Researchers of HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU) (formerly Hamburg University of Applied Sciences / HAW) have been active within the area of hydrography for more than 30 years. Since 2019, HCU owns the survey vessel DVocean as a platform for a hydrographic measurement system. Its dimensions (8 m x 2.5 m x 0.8 m draft) are optimized for shallow waters and allow transportation with the customized trailer to more remote survey areas. The DVocean will be engaged in interdisciplinary research and contribute to investigations not only in the broad field of geodesy but also in applications of science of the built environment (e.g. civil engineering), geoscience, natural science, and others. For this purpose, current cooperation will be extended or newly established. In such cooperation data will be acquired, processed, analyzed, and interpreted (e.g. monitoring of river and seabed changes and constructions, habitat mapping). Additionally, data-driven methods will be applied and improved (e.g. automatic segmentation and classification). Furthermore, the hydrographic measurement system itself will be optimized (e. g. regarding calibration and alignment procedures, positing algorithms). To realize the planned research projects a hydrographic measurement system with certain functionalities is required. This multi-sensor system for the DVocean needs to provide georeferenced hydrographic information which includes not only bathymetric data but also information of the water column and upper sediment layers for example. Therefore, the system consists of the components multibeam echo sounder (MBES), sub-bottom profiler (SBP), sound velocity profiler with CTD functionalities (SVP/CTD), GNSS antennas, and inertial navigation system (INS).

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Hydrographisches Messsystem
• Instrumentation Group: 0460 Meerestiefenmesser, Echolote, Sonare
• Applicant Institution: HafenCity Universität Hamburg (HCU)
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Harald Sternberg