The A-1-98-HW Acoustic Survey

During January and February 1998, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a high-resolution multibeam seafloor-mapping survey of the region surrounding the five EPA-designated Hawaiian ocean disposal sites. Both bathymetry and acoustic backscatter were recorded and processed. The survey was conducted with a 1-m spatial accuracy using differential GPS, with a commercial satellite reference station. Depths were corrected for tidal offsets and depth accuracies of < 0.5% of water depth was achieved across the entire swath. The cruise, a jointly funded project between the EPA, USGS and the COE, was conducted under a cooperative agreement between the USGS and the Ocean Mapping Group, University of New Brunswick, Canada. A Kongsberg Simrad EM300 high-resolution multibeam mapping system was used for the survey (see Appendix 1).

Methods

The geophysical and navigational instrumentation and methods are explained in greater detail in Gardner and Hughes Clarke (1998), Gardner et al. (1998), and Gardner and Mayer (1998). A description of multibeam technology and the Kongsberg Simrad EM300 multibeam mapping system can be found in Appendix 1, Hughes Clarke (1998), and Hughes Clarke et al. (1996). Description of the processing steps necessary to generate the maps from multibeam data are outlined in Appendix 1, Gardner and Hughes Clarke (1998), and Gardner et al. (1999).

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Suggested citation:

Torresan, Michael E. and Gardner, James V., 2000, Acoustic Mapping of the Regional Seafloor Geology in and Around Hawaiian Ocean Dredged-Material Disposal Sites: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00-124, https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/0124/.

U.S. Department of the Interior
SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey
Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director