NOAA/UNH Joint Hydrographic Center

Education and Research at the University of New Hampshire

www.ccom.unh.edu

Joint Hydrographic Center

• Directed by Congress• Created by

NOAA/UNH MOU June 1999

• Funded annually through a cooperative agreement grant

Complementary Centers

• NOAA/UNH Joint Hydrographic Center (JHC)– A Government and University Organization

• UNH Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (C-COM)– Provides for participation of other government agencies

and private sector

NSF, ONR, NRL, DARPA, USGS, GEBCO

Industrial Consortium

Center Goals

• To be a world leader in the development of hydrographic & ocean mapping technologies and approaches

• To expand the scope and applications of ocean mapping

• To educate a new generation of hydrographers and ocean mappers that can meet the growing needs of both government agencies and the private sector.

Who are we?

• 9 Faculty—7 UNH and 2NOAA

• 12 Research Scientists—10 UNH and 2 NOAA

• 13 Graduate Students—including 3 NOAA

• 4 Admin/Technical Support Staff

• Visiting Scholar Program– Denmark, Sweden, Germany (2), Australia,

Scotland, Israel, and Texas

Sonar manufacturers :Sonar manufacturers :

Cable and pipelines:Cable and pipelines: Survey Companies:Survey Companies:

Mapping and processing software:Mapping and processing software:

Industry Partners

Educational Programs

• M.Sc. and Ph.D.– Two tracks

• Ocean Engineering

• Earth Sciences/Oceanography/Natural Resources

– Thesis or Non-thesis M.S. options available

• Graduate Certificate Program• Non-Degree Programs

– Undergraduate Courses

– Short Courses and Seminars

• FIG/IHO CAT A Certification – May 2001

Adjoining Facilities

• Electronics Lab

• Machine shop

• Acoustic Test Tank

• Tow and wave tank

• Recirculating Flume Tank

RV Coastal Surveyor

Research Themes

• Sonar System Capabilities and Limitations• New approaches to multibeam sonar data

processing• Data Visualization and Management• New Applications of Seafloor Mapping

Technology and Data – Remote Seafloor Characterization– Fisheries Habitat– ????????

Special Research Projects

• Law of the Sea—Article 76

• Electronic Chart of the Future

• Advanced RTK GPS

Research Themes

Sonar System Capabilities and LimitationsSonar System Capabilities and Limitations

Push the limits of resolution (all sorts), coverage, and information Push the limits of resolution (all sorts), coverage, and information contentcontent

Depth measurements from side scan Depth measurements from side scan sonarssonars

Wide area side scan for habitat Wide area side scan for habitat mappingmapping

Water column information from Water column information from multibeam sonarsmultibeam sonars

Research Themes

• The Request: Develop techniques to speed up the cleaning of multibeam sonar soundings

New Approaches to Multibeam Sonar Data ProcessingNew Approaches to Multibeam Sonar Data Processing

An example to consider

First, find the right question…

• What’s really the problem?

• What’s taking the time?

• What does the end user really need?

What is it that we really need to solve our problem?

Automated Multibeam Sonar Processing

• CUBE– Combined Uncertainty and Bathymetric

Estimator– Creates a high resolution digital elevation

model rather than a (huge) bunch of individual soundings

– Being incorporated into leading hydrographic software products

Valdez Survey Data

• 5 days

• Two launches with different multibeam systems

• 22,227,491 Soundings

A CUBE vs. Traditional Method Trial

Valdez Narrows, AK

Total Time Comparison

0.00 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00 250.00 300.00 350.00

Traditional

CUBE

Time Expended (hrs)

In Survey Post Survey Reporting Troubleshooting

Research Themes

• The Navigation Surface– Archiving a digital elevation model rather than

a shoal-biased set of soundings– Lets us generalize the products, not our original

survey data

Data Visualization and Management

This has been our archive product

Snow Passage Depth Plot H10949

This will be our archived product

Data: NOAA Ship RAINIER

Article 76 Bathymetric Study

• Identify areas of potential claim

• Identify existing data pertinent to LOS

• Define areas of potential claim where existing data is insufficient

• Determine survey requirements and costs to fill in data gaps

Research Project

• Next Generation improvements– What improved capabillity can be implemented

in today’s electronic charting technology

• Revolutionary changes– What should an electronic chart look like– Unconstrained by existing ECDIS and ENC

standards, formats, and conventions

Electronic Chart of the Future

Challenges

First, find the right question…

• What’s really the problem?

• What’s taking the time?

• What does the end user really need?

What is it that we really need to solve our problem?

First, find the right question…

• What’s really the problem?

• What’s taking the time?

• What does the end user really need?

What is it that we really need to solve our problem?

Challenges

Help us find the right question to ask.