Evaluation of options in producing BASE surfaces used in navigational charting

Abstract

This study will compare methods in data processing of multibeam SONAR survey data for use in detection of the shoalest (shallowest) and deepest points along a surveyed region for use in charts meant to aid in-port navigation. An evaluation of accuracies and differences between BASE surfaces using both the CUBE and Swath algorithms to post-processing collected multibeam SONAR survey data along the University of Washington (UW), Seattle port and dock facility is presented. The original sonar soundings were collected using a pole-mounted multibeam SONAR (EM2040C) aboard the R/V Barnes on Sep. 16, 2016 along a straight-line transit parallel to the UW seawall. Of primary importance are the difference in position of the shoalest and deepest points, and the depth estimates of this points. In addition, a post-processing workflow and recommendations for processing in-port data for future applications is presented.