New Technology for Shallow Water Hydrographic Surveys

surveys in order to increase the efficiency with which hydrographic data are acquired and to improve the likelihood that all potential dangers to navigation are detected in the course of a hydrographic survey. Three areas of technology hold the greatest promise for meeting those goals: Airborne Lidar Hydrography (ALH), Shallow Water Multibeam Sonars (SWMB), and digital side scan sonar, especially the Coast Survey's new High Speed, High Resolution Side Scan Sonar (HSHRSSS). The Coast Survey expects that all its ALH surveys will be outsourced to private sector contractors, and that its SWMB and side scan sonar surveys will be accomplished by both NOAA survey vessels and by private sector contractors. This diversity of sources for survey data influences the strategy for managing these new technologies. Airborne Lidar Hydrography The Office of Coast Survey has been involved in the development of ALH technology since the 1970s. Coast Survey was involved in the development of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Scanning Hydrographic Operational Airborne Lidar Survey (SHOALS) system and continues to be actively engaged in data quality assurance, system upgrades, and advanced algorithm development. In 1995, the Coast Survey reported on a comparison of results of a SHOALS test survey with those