Summary for Field Activity Number 2006-001-FA

Area of Operations: Apalachicola Bay, Florida, United States, Gulf of Mexico, North America, North Atlantic

Dates: May 29, 2006 to June 27, 2006

Objectives: Complete sea floor mapping of Apalachicola Bay using the RAFAEL to map areas deeper than 2 m and the ASV IRIS for mapping areas shallower than 2 m.

Type of Activity: Sea floor mapping

Information to be derived: Habitat maps
Sea Floor Map
Bathymetric Maps
Morphology

Summary: This field season marked the second year of surveying in Apalachicola Bay. The goal of the mapping project was to provide an updated map of the distribution of oyster beds in the bay. Continuous coverage sidescan sonar imagery and bathymetric data were used to achieve this goal, and high-resolution chirp profiles were used to define the geologic framework upon which the oyster beds are set. The bay is shallow (average depth 2.5 m), and the crests of most of the oyster beds are in water depths less than 1 m. Consequently the entire area could not be surveyed using the RAFAEL. IRIS, the newly acquired ASV, was used to map the shallow areas. This was the first use of this system, and it proved quite successful. This years field operation was conducted during late May and June. The RAFAEL collected data during 25 of the 29-day field program and IRIS collected data during 14 days. Aboard RAFAEL RTK GPS navigation, Klein sidescan sonar imagery, Submetrix interferometric bathymetry, and chirp sub-bottom profiles were collected in digital form along 1492 km of trackline. IRIS collected RTK GPS navigation, EdgeTech sidescan sonar imagery, single-beam bathymetry, and chirp sub-bottom data in digital form along 148 km of tracks. From the two platforms data (all in digital form) were collected along 1640 km of survey lines.

USGS Project Number: 2921-0FL56 - Project Description

Contact: Dave Twichell (dtwichell@usgs.gov)

InfoBank: uses the identifier R-1-06-GM. Visit this site for more information.