Sessions

This presentation reflects on nearly 30 years of Ireland’s national seabed mapping programme, from the Irish National Seabed Survey to INFOMAR’s approaching completion of full multibeam coverage of Ireland’s EEZ. It highlights the programme’s technological evolution, long-standing collaboration with Kongsberg Maritime, and key scientific and operational achievements, including mapping of seabed geomorphology, deep-sea habitat, shipwreck, offshore renewable energy sites and new International mapping initiatives.

In March 2026, Canada launched an Antarctic research program with Chile aboard the new icebreaker Almirante Viel. During a two-week expedition near the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula, researchers collected seabed mapping, geological, and oceanographic data. The collaboration involved government agencies, navies, and academic institutions from both countries. This presentation highlights project outcomes, the use of the vessel’s EM124 and SBP29 sonar systems, and key lessons learned.

Lake Nemi, near Rome, Italy, is a site of exceptional archaeological and historical importance, renowned for the remains of two monumental Roman ships recovered in the 1920s. A high-resolution multibeam survey using a Kongsberg EM2040p system produced the first detailed lakebed mapping. Combined with archival and historical information, the results revealed multiple submerged landslides and provided new insights into the likely location of the Roman ships, which were destroyed by fire during World War II in 1944.

Co-authors:

Antonio Petrizzo, Christian Toson and Giorgio Simone (CNR ISMAR Istituto di Scienze Marine, Venezia)

Fabrizio Ortolani (CNR INM, Istituto di Ingegneria del Mare, Roma)

Alessandro Bosman (CNR IGAG Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Roma)

Daniela De Angelis (Director Museo delle Navi romane di Nemi, Direzione Regionale Musei Lazio, Roma)

Maddalena Bassani (Director Laboratorio di Analisi Materiali Antichi, Università Iuav di Venezia)

In support of the Polar Connect cable route, Icebreaker ODEN needed to collect EM124 and SB29 data in very heavy (9/10 to 10/10) ice. To achieve the quality of data needed to support cable route planning, we took advantage of the EM124’s 3D-scan mode allowing the collection of high-quality data while progressing at a reasonable speed even in the heaviest ice. Strategies for use of this feature will be described and data examples presented.

Co-author:

Adriano Fonseca

Poster authors will present themselves

This presentation will highlight the multi-phase study conceived by NOAA, Kongsberg Discovery, TAI Engineering, and Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors to determine an optimal solution to address bubble sweepdown concerns on NOAA’s Class B Charting and Mapping vessels. The five phase study consists of (1) validating the initial CFD analysis, (2) comparing a blister versus a gondola solution, (3) optimizing the preferred gondola solution, (4) physical model testing with simulated sea states, and (5) propeller cavitation testing.

Nunavut Marine Innovation and Research under Qikiqtaaluk Corporation is developing an integrated, Indigenous-led Arctic marine research and fisheries capability using community vessels, Ludy Pudluk, and Moses Appaqaq. The program combines community drop-camera surveys, test fishing, local observations, advanced multibeam and acoustic technologies, fisheries assessment, habitat mapping, and offshore research. This scalable approach connects Inuit knowledge with scientific data while supporting subsistence and potential commercial fisheries development. A central focus is Inuit training, mentorship, technical skills, vessel operations, survey technology, data collection, and long-term Arctic research capacity.

Governmental, academic, commercial, and private ocean mapping organizations share many technical and operational challenges. This presentation highlights field experiences and collaborative efforts among NOAA, the NSF-funded Multibeam Advisory Committee (MAC), and partners to build community-based resources for maintaining high data quality and operational efficiency. Priorities include standardizing performance assessments for new multibeam systems; providing routine quality assurance testing; publicly sharing methods, results, challenges, and solutions; and developing training opportunities. 

Sea Centric rapidly converted working vessels into seabed-mapping platforms, creating new survey capacity while learning practical lessons in vessel suitability, system selection, integration and operations. This presentation follows that journey beyond multibeam installation to the data lifecycle itself. It examines how cybersecurity, governance, provenance, quality, accessibility and sovereignty shape the value of ocean data, and how adaptable commercial fleets can support trusted, resilient mapping capacity without waiting for purpose-built research vessels.

Co-author: 

Megan Murphy (Sea Centric Inc.)

In 2025, the French Hydrographic Service (Shom) deployed Marlin, its first autonomous Drix H-8, equipped with a KONGSBERG EM2042 multibeam echosounder. This presentation provides an overview of the initial calibrations, acceptance tests conducted to verify compliance with IHO standards and the first operational surveys. Workflows for surveys with Marlin are also compared with those used on crewed survey vessels. The deployment of this USV represents a significant advancement in hydrography by providing autonomous survey capabilities. 

Since December 2024, Saildrone has been conducted multiple, large-scale uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) deep-water bathymetric surveys in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. Deploying up to four Saildrone Surveyor platforms with Kongsberg EM304 MkII multi-beam echo sounders, the project evaluates platform endurance and system performance across diverse seabed environments. Overcoming remote operational challenges, the effort has driven hardware, software, and workflow innovations, highlighting the growing capability of uncrewed platforms for large-scale ocean mapping.

Co-authors:
Daniel Boone, Tiziana Munene and Bert Wyness (Saildrone)