Specializing in environmental surveying, AFFILIATED RESEARCHERS utilizes advanced hydrographic instruments and software to provide side scan sonar surveying of lakes, harbors, rivers, canals, estuaries, and marine environments.
Side scan sonar is the preferred method when detailed resolution of the seafloor, lakebed, river channel, or harbor is required. The exceptionally high detail and resolution provided by the side scan surveying services of AFFILIATED RESEARCHERS, often exceeds task criteria prescribed in engineering, environmental, and scientific projects.
In addition to providing precise, detailed, and complete bathymetric mosaics, sidescan surveying has been successfully used to locate wrecks, debris, obstructions, artifacts, as well as for delineating different substrate types.
AFFILIATED RESEARCHERS utilizes a Klein HydroChart 5000 shallow-water swath bathymetry sonar system to conduct its side scan sonar surveys. The Klein HydroChart 5000 system is considered the “Best in Class” and provides precise and efficient side scan sonar surveying (and multi-beam sonar bathymetry simultaneously). The Klein HydroChart 5000 system exceeds accuracies criteria established by the International Hydrographic Organization’s standards (IHO SP-44 Special Order Surveys).
The sidescan hydrographic services offered by AFFILIATED RESEARCHERS’ enable complete survey coverage (usually exceeding 150%) of the subject environment. Multibeam hydrographic surveys do not depend upon interpolation of data between survey transects (as is the requirement for single-beam hydrographic surveys), but instead completely pans the substrate with a continuous array (swath) of thousands of sonar beams transmitted every second.
AFFILIATED RESEARCHERS’ professionally trained Hydrographers utilize onboard hydrographic computers to couple the side scan sonar with onboard heading-motion sensors and highly accurate RTK-GPS antennas, in order to provide the greatest precision. During the survey, the side scan sonar collects millions of geo-referenced imagery data which produce an ultra-high resolution survey of complex underwater features in great detail and precision.
Accurate, detailed 3-D, fly-through Fledermaus depictions of the bathymetry and underwater features are developed by our Hydrographers using the industry’s most advanced hydrographic software. The side scan products are readily exported into GeoTIFF, JPEG, PDF, CAD, or GIS formats to enable convenient data sharing. Our side scan survey deliverables are provided in the client’s selected real-world coordinate system and elevation datum.
Our sidescan surveys also include backgrounds of aerial photography, engineering plans, infrastructure surveys, and other databases to show relevant detail of the vicinity. The final hydrographic survey drawings are scaled and established in a client selected real-world coordinate system and elevation datum.
AFFILIATED RESEARCHERS provides side scan sonar services nationwide and throughout the US territories.