The Burroughs and Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies at Coastal Carolina University is on the cutting edge of seafloor and sub-bottom imaging techniques. Very few institutions in the world have such complete and state-of-the-art equipment holdings. In order to efficiently map the seafloor for scientific and engineering purposes, remote imaging methods are employed. The Center specializes in the use of acoustic instrumentation. These instruments use sound echoes to determine different characteristics of the seafloor. The shape of the seafloor is measured with single beam and multibeam echosounders. Seafloor roughness and bottom type (sand versus hardbottom) are determined with sidescan sonar. Sub-bottom layers comprising the geologic framework beneath the seafloor are imaged with a high-frequency seismic device known as a Chirp. All of these data are spatially co-registered with high-precision Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System signals from a network of satellites orbiting the Earth.
Much of our equipment has been funded by grants from the National Science Foundation.
CHIRP
Chirp systems use acoustic energy to enable high-resolution mapping of sediments beneath the surface of the ocean floor.
Side Scan Sonar
Side Scan Sonar uses backscattered acoustic energy received from the ocean bottom to image the sea floor. It is a way to “look” at the ocean floor without sending a person.
Multibeam Sonar
Multibeam sonar uses acoustic energy to collect high resolution measurements of the depth and character of the ocean floor.
Physical Oceanographic Equipment
The following photos are instruments recently acquired through a grant from the National Science Foundation. They are a sample of the sophisticated monitoring devises used by our Physical Oceanographers.
A) Downward lookine ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler)
B) Nortec AWAC (Acoustic Wave and Current Profiler)
C) Aquatec Acoustic Backscatter Sensor
A) Sequoia Scientific LISST-100X (Laser In-Situ Scatterometer and Transmissometer)
B) Sontek ADV (Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter)
C) Imagenex Profiling Sonar
