Mapping the (Ice Covered) Arctic Seafloor at 20 Knots

Dale Chayes
Lamont Research Engineer

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, 3:00pm
Chase 130
Abstract

Seafloor Characterization and Mapping Pods (SCAMP) were developed in 1997-1998 and deployed 1998 and 1999 on the US Navy nuclear attack submarine USS HAWKBILL (SSN666) for unclassified swath mapping and subbottom profiling under the Arctic ice canopy as part of the SCICEX program, which is guided by the terms of a memorandum of agreement between the Navy, the Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Geological Survey and the National  Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. SCAMP consists of a Sidescan Swath Bathymetric Sonar (SSBS) and a High-Resolution Subbottom Profiler (HRSP), and a marine gravity meter that are integrated with a physically compact Data Acquisition and Quality Control System (DAQCS).The transducers for each of the sonars are mounted in purpose-built hydrodynamic pods that were temporarily fastened to special purpose threaded weldments along the submarine's keel. The weldments were installed in drydock but the pods, transducers and junction boxes were installed and can be serviced by divers at the pier. The inboard electronics for the system are packaged for submarine installation and mounted in the torpedo room.

Bio

Dale Chayes has been an active instrument developer in the oceanographic community since 1973. He has participated in more than one hundred oceanographic cruises in support of scientific research programs on ships, small boats and submarines operated by U.S. and foreign academic, private, government, and military organizations, in roles ranging from mooring technician to Chief Scientist. He has collaborated with a broad range of engineers and scientists on numerous projects including deep-sea still and video systems, surface ship (Hydrosweep, Simrad, and SeaBeam), submarine (SCAMP) and deep-towed mapping sonars (SeaMARC I), real-time wireless data systems, database infrastructure for digital libraries (DLESE), satellite IP connectivity solutions (SeaNet), GPS Geodesy, trace gas water samplers, precision positioning systems and backpack mounted particle counters. On various projects, he has filled roles ranging from principal investigator, system architect, to wire-wrapper and most of the roles in between.