Expedition Sourced Ocean Data Collection Program

The world’s oceans and the environments they encompass are vast and varied. The bathymetric contours and acoustic conditions found in the seas, oceans, and bays throughout the latitudes mirror this complexity. FarSounder sonars are designed to bring clarity in these varying conditions to the operators aboard our customers’ ships. Over the years, we’ve amassed many terabytes of sonar data from vessels and locations around the world with varying times of year, installation types, vessel speeds, and signal types. This data is used to continually test new software releases and algorithms.

Over the past year, FarSounder has focused on not only improving algorithms and delivering new features (such as Local History Mapping?), but also on exploring capabilities to extend our knowledge about the marine world. This data is also a valuable resource for these endeavors. FarSounder recently became the first (and only) forward looking sonar company to be registered as a trusted node for the IHO’s Data Centre for Digital Bathymetry (DCDB)database hosted by NOAA. This past year we also became an official Industrial Associate of the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping.

As part of these initiatives, we’ve redoubled our efforts to collect even greater amounts of sonar data from the farthest reaches of the world by working with select customers to record and collect sonar data along their routes. To date, we’ve collected data from locations as varied as Antarctica to the Panama Canal and Japan to Greenland.

Read more...