$1.7 million software grant will aid marine research at CCU

Coastal Carolina University’s marine research capabilities have received a significant boost thanks to geoscience software company Seismic Micro-Technology Inc., which has agreed to provide the University with an advanced computer software package for a period of three years.

The grant will supply software, valued at $1,776, 523, that interprets geological data in marine environments, according to Rich Viso, assistant director of CCU’s Burroughs & Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies. The software, known as the Kingdom Suite system, “improves our technical ability to visualize and interpret the seismic data we collect for our sub-bottom profile studies,” said Viso. 

The center conducts a series of ongoing studies that examine coastal geological processes. University scientists and students have mapped many square miles of the seafloor, gathering valuable data about mineral and sand resources as well as biological habitats. The software system provided through this grant is particularly useful in the center’s sub-bottom profiling studies, providing better tools to create images and maps of the layers of sediment that lie below the seafloor. 

The Kingdom Suite system—which is used extensively by the petroleum industry in exploring for undersea gas and oil reserves—is also a valuable tool for training students, according to Viso.