Kongsberg Maritime (KILOMETRES) delights in to report that its brand-new EM 304 MKII high-resolution deep-water multibeam echosounder system has actually simply effectively finished its initial tests aboard the NOAA vessel Okeanos Explorer in the waters off the shore of Florida.

Okeanos Explorer is the initial vessel on the planet to be fitted with the EM 304 MKII transfer variety– a thorough upgrade to the relied on EM 302 deep-water multibeam system which has actually been released daily because the ship was initially introduced in 2008. The brand-new EM 304 MKII was executed its rates throughout a 25-day exploration aboard Okeanos Explorer, performed by a group from NOAA Ocean Exploration, the United States government organisation dedicated to the expedition of deep sea settings.

The intention behind the exploration was to analyze the capability and also preparedness of all mapping-related devices on the vessel– consisting of a main authorisation of the brand-new EM 304 MKII system– prior to the rest of the area period begins.

Image Credits: NOAA/ Kongsberg Maritime

Receiving a thumbs-up from the NOAA confirms that this devices can gathering one of the most precise, top notch study information and also sharing it with hydrographic areas. By allowing the group to optimize the preparation and also implementation of studies, it will certainly make certain that all honest objectives create conclusive lead to one of the most economical way.

The EM 304 MKII has actually been developed to raise the effectiveness of deep-water mapping job by boosting the high quality of collected information and also increasing the attainable protection location. Kilometres’s multibeam systems have a rock-solid credibility for creating remarkably tidy information throughout the whole swath size, however the enhanced, future-proof MKII EM system makes use of an ingenious datagram style which sustains numerous brand-new attributes consisting of expanded backscatter calibration. More brand-new attributes are presently being established.

As with all KONGSBERG EM multibeam resemble sounders, the EM 304 MKII has actually been developed to reduce any kind of possible influence on sea ecological communities, releasing the lowest-possible noise degrees so regarding assist in securing aquatic microorganisms within study locations.

“We are very pleased with the EM 304 system’s performance and with KONGSBERG’s technical support so far,” claims Genene Fisher, acting supervisor of NOAA Ocean Exploration, “and also are expecting utilizing this finder to discover the deep waters of the United States and also past, remaining to press the limits on deep-ocean mapping and also tightening the voids in the unmapped worldwide seafloor.

“The successful installation and shakedown of this new sonar is the result of a strong, long-standing and productive relationship between NOAA Ocean Exploration, the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and Kongsberg Maritime,” Fisher proceeds. “With the integration of this new system, we are poised in the next year to pass the milestone of having mapped a total of 2,000,000km2 via Okeanos Explorer. We’re looking forward to sharing our experiences with the global seafloor mapping community.”

“It’s a pleasure to be working with NOAA on the first sea trial of the new MKII on Okeanos Explorer,” includes Helge Uhlen, VP Underwater Mapping Sales, Kongsberg Maritime,“and it’s exciting to have confirmation that the new system meets all NOAA and KM expectations. The new EM 304 MKII system has truly remarkable long-range and high-resolution capabilities: it’s an important step towards revealing the secrets of the deep in much greater detail than has ever been possible before.”