CHAPTER 38
Hydrographic Surveys
Electronic Positioning Systems
● Are used to locate sounding since conventional hydrographic survey
methods no longer apply.
● Are designed to measure the time of transit or difference in transit times of
electromagnetic waves in the atmosphere.
● The accuracy of any measurement by an electronic positioning system is
highly dependent upon the temperature, humidity and pressure at the time
the measurement is made.
● For hydrographic surveying, a large section of electronic positioning
systems is available. These systems are known under such tradenames as
Shoran, Loran, Raydist, Del Norte, etc.
1. Short-range Navigation (Shoran)
● This method was originally developed for blind bombing by military
aircraft and aerial photographic reconnaissance.
● This method is now widely used in most offshore measurements and
in establishing triangulation stations for horizontal control networks.
● It operates on low frequencies and has a working range from about
80 to 120 kilometers depending largely on the height of antennas
used.
2. Long-range Navigation (Loran)
● This method is similar to Shoran, except for the
use of and transmission of high pulses of
electromagnetic energy.
● High frequency waves are employed since these
waves allow the measurement of greater distance.
3. Electronic Position Indicator (EPI)
● It combines some of the principles and techniques used in
long-range and short-range navigation.
● It was developed by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Surveys
in order to increase the measuring capability of the two
systems developed earlier.
● By using this method, a survey ship can be located for
distances of from 500 to 800 kilometers.
4. Radio Acoustic Ranging (RAR)
● It is another method of control used to determine the position of a
survey vessel.
● It calls for the measurement of two or more distances which are
derived from the accurate measurement of times required for a
subaqueous sound to reach two or more established receiving
stations.
● The RAR’s advantage is its independence of the conditions of
visibility.
Echo Sounding
● A method of measuring the depth of water by determining
the time required for sound waves to travel from a point
near the surface of the water to the bottom and back.
● The accuracy of echo soundings is directly dependent on a
knowledge of the velocity of sound and on the precision
with which the travel time of the sound can be measured.
Fathometer
● It is an instrument used for Herbert Grove Dorsey is the
determining the depth of inventor of the Fathometer.
water by echo sounding.
● Fathometers differ
considerably in design and
construction and have
varying characteristics.
Types of Echo Sounder
1. Portable Fathometers 2. Non-portable Fathometers
● They are operated by dry batteries and can
be easily shifted from one boat to another. ● They are designed to measure soundings to
● Read by means of a meter or a scale since depths of over 60 meters
they do not have the capability to move and ● Are very sensitive and have the capability to
mark a paper strip record reflections from layers of different
● Can determine depths up to about 60 meters density
● Are usually graphic-recording and draw
continuous profiles of the sea-bed on a
moving strip of paper.
Advantages and Limitations of Echo Sounder
● Echo sounding has been proven to be suitable for measuring depths from a
few centimeters to about 11,000 meters.
● It can easily provide a continuous profile of the bottom while the vessel is
moving through the water.
● Echo soundings are not subject to the inherent errors & difficulties
encountered when using depth measuring devices such as the leadline and
the sounding pole.
● In echo sounding there are certain conditions encountered that tend to limit
the useful range of the instruments and influence the accuracy of the
results.
The following are some of the conditions
influencing echo soundings :
1. Variations in the water temperature
2. Degree of salinity in the water
3. Absorption of transmitted sound waves by the water
4. Turbulence
5. Characteristic and slope of the bottom surface
6. Aeration or air entrainment along the bottom of the
vessel.
New Development in Electronic Sounding
Equipment
Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) — The method which employs
lasers, offers high accuracies but is applicable only to depths less than
50 m.
Airbone Lasers & Multispectral Scanners (MSS)
Orbiting Satellites — being developed to allow remote measurements of
water depths
Photobathymetry — an aerial camera is used to photograph the water
areas using standard techniques of photogrammetry.
MULTISPECTRAL
TECHNIQUES
Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS)
Landsat 1 was launched on July 23, LANDSAT 1
1972; at that time the satellite was
known as the Earth Resources
Technology Satellite (ERTS). It was
the first Earth-observing satellite to
be launched with the express intent
to study and monitor our planet’s
landmasses.
EARTH RESOURCES TECHNOLOGY
SATELLITE (ERTS)
LANDSAT 3 The Details
Launch Date: March 5, 1978
Status: put into standby mode: March 31, 1983;
decommissioned: Sept. 7, 1983
Sensors: RBV, MSS
Altitude: nominally 900 km
Inclination: 99.2°
Orbit: polar, sun-synchronous
Equatorial Crossing Time: nominally 9:42 AM mean
local time (descending node)
Period of Revolution : 103 minutes; ~14 orbits/day
Repeat Coverage : 18 days
