易胜博官网

易胜博官网 has a new, state-of-the-art research vessel that will help researchers map the coastal seafloor and better understand the ocean environment while providing training in the latest oceanographic practices. The R/V Gulf Surveyor, a 48-foot aluminum vessel with a catamaran hull with the capability to deploy sophisticated multi-beam echosounders, is docked in New Castle at the pier adjacent to .

Built in Bellingham, Wash., by All American Marine, the Gulf Surveyor boasts twin engines and dual propellers, a crane for lifting heavy equipment, numerous computer workstations, and interior space with a sitting area, small kitchen and bathroom.

鈥淲e are thrilled with our new research vessel, which will allow us to safely and efficiently fulfill our mandate to develop new and innovative approaches to mapping the seafloor and water column as well as train the next generation of ocean mappers,鈥� says Larry Mayer, director of (CCOM) and director of 易胜博官网鈥檚 .听

"Our new research vessel will allow us to safely and efficiently fulfill our mandate to develop new and innovative approaches to mapping the seafloor and water column as well as train the next generation of ocean mappers.鈥�

The vessel is certified for 18 passengers. This summer, many of those have been students who come from around the globe to learn the latest ocean mapping techniques from 易胜博官网. The $2.4 million vessel was funded by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 易胜博官网鈥檚 cooperative partner in the (JHC), which Mayer co-directs.

With its catamaran hull and powerful engines making it faster and nimbler than 易胜博官网鈥檚 older research vessels, the Coastal Surveyor and the Cocheco, the Gulf Surveyor鈥檚 primary task will be mapping the sea floor and water column, a conceptual 鈥渃olumn鈥� of water from the seafloor to the surface, using multibeam echosounders and other innovative mapping tools.

Much like a bat鈥檚 echolocation, the multibeam echosounder sends a fan-shaped swath of sound to points on the ocean floor then measures the time it takes to bounce, or echo, back. The resulting high-resolution maps are badly needed: Mayer and other oceanographers note that just 11 percent of the world鈥檚 seafloor has been topographically imaged in any detail.

Since its arrival in New Castle in May, the Gulf Surveyor has worked steadily in the Portsmouth Harbor, training 听in CCOM/JHC鈥檚 annual hydrographic field course and exploring the seafloor, water column and advanced capacities of this new vessel.