Seafloor Reconnaissance Surveys and Change Monitoring Using a Small AUV and a Small ROV. The Role of Bottom Variability in Mine Burial Detection [report]

Roy H. Wilkens
2006 unpublished
LONG-TERM GOALS Early in 2005 the University of Hawaii purchased a REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and a SeaBotix LBV150S remotely operated vehicle (ROV) with ONR DURIP funding. The instruments are particularly useful for work in coastal waters up to 100m in depth. The AUV provides high-resolution bottom sidescan sonar maps and water column data. The ROV will be used to groundtruth targets picked from backscattered imagery. The littoral environment has become an area of intense
more » ... t to naval forces since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990's. Ship To Objective Maneuver and Mine Warfare are two primary applications of data from the near shore. Additionally, the NAVY and DoD in general have been increasingly involved in environmental issues such as reclamation of formerly used defense sites (FUDS) and the spread of water-borne pollution. Homeland security also has a stake in understanding and monitoring coastal shallow waters. Our long term goal is to develop the expertise to easily deploy our assets in the field for economical and rapid data reduction and assessment of areas of interest to the Navy, other governmental agencies, and the research community. The Mine Burial Prediction (MBP) program was begun in 2000 and culminated in 2006. The primary goal of the program was to develop a stochastic prediction capability that could be transitioned to the NAVY. This objective has been achieved (see Brandt report, this volume). OBJECTIVES Objectives during the past year were to (1) edit a special issue of the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering devoted to the MBP program, (2) adapt custom sidescan sonar software used by the Hawaii Mapping Research Group (HMRG) for use with REMUS data, (3) carry on a time series of sidescan surveys off Kakaako (Oahu) around the Kilo Nalu Cabled Reef Observatory, and (4) use our sidescan system and ROV to look for unexploded ordnance in Hawaiian coastal waters. Report Documentation Page Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number.
doi:10.21236/ada523750 fatcat:5dji4p37njfp3kb4ghmv7vkmgq