Exposure MS200 Multibeam Sounding System at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River

On June 22, 2018, an event jointly organized by the Changjiang River Hydrographic Survey Center and the Yangtze River Chongqing Waterway Bureau, the Changjiang Yibin Waterway Bureau and the Yangtze River Luzhou Waterway Bureau were invited to participate for field demonstration and test of MS200 shallow water multibeam sounding system were carried out at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River which independently developed and produced by Hydro-Tech.

In view of the particularity and operational requirements at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, combined with performance and characteristics of the MS200 multibeam sounding system, this demonstration targets on the following three aspects:

(1) Inclination measurement at any angle—Using inclination measurement to measure underwater shoals or buildings, emphasis testing the reliability and consistency of survey results of MS200's inclination measurement function at any angle.

As shown in the figure below, the MS200 is installed obliquely with a special rotating mechanism.

Figure 1 MS200 inclined installation

Multibeam profile figure in different underwater terrain conditions as follow:

Figure 2 Depth profile of underwater cliffs

Figure 3 Depth profile of gentle slope

Figure 4 Depth profile in shallow water flat area

Figure 5 Tilt measurement of underwater 3D topographic maps

(2) Waterway bathymetric measurement—According to the daily survey operation requirements of the Yangtze River waterway, the sounding function and side-scanning function of Hydrao MS200 were investigated, the installation-free calibration, data splicing and measurement effect of MS200 were tested.

Figure 6 and Figure 7 show the real-time splicing of the two measurement lines without installation and calibration. The real-time splicing results do not have any splicing traces, and the installation-free calibration is totally realized.

Figures 8-10 show the bathymetry results and partial underwater three-dimensional topography of inclination measurements and conventional channel measurements.

Figure 8 Demo area underwater 3D terrain

Figure 9 Partial underwater 3D terrain (reef area)

Figure 10 Partial underwater 3D terrain (flat areas)

(3) Hydrographic obstacle scanning——Scanning underwater sunken ships or other obstacles, focusing on the detection of MS200's function and resolution to underwater targets.

Figure 11 Three-dimensional figure of sunken ship

Figure 12 Simultaneous display of underwater reef side-scan images and 3D point clouds

During the demonstration, experts and leaders from the measurement center and the upstream bureau conducted in-depth exchanges with our technical staff, they highly praised the multibeam sounding system which independently developed by Hydro-Tech. The main features such as installation-free calibration, inclined measurement, survey integration of bathymetry and side scanning are very suitable for channel surveying in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.