{"id":171015,"date":"2018-07-05T16:13:26","date_gmt":"2018-07-05T20:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noaacoastsurvey.wordpress.com\/?p=171015"},"modified":"2022-03-18T16:54:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T16:54:48","slug":"noaa-and-coast-guard-survey-shallow-channels-in-eastern-chesapeake-bay-to-update-aids-to-navigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/noaa-and-coast-guard-survey-shallow-channels-in-eastern-chesapeake-bay-to-update-aids-to-navigation\/","title":{"rendered":"NOAA and Coast Guard survey shallow channels in eastern Chesapeake Bay to update aids to navigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Lt j.g. Patrick Debroisse<\/strong><\/p>\n

The area of the Chesapeake Bay along the Eastern Shore of Maryland is one of our nation\u2019s treasures. Home to unique underwater grasses, fish, and shellfish, this complex transition from river to sea is also home to millions of tons of sediment delivered annually from eroding land and streams. Recreational boaters, fisherman, and cruising vessels are keenly aware of the shifting sands and sediment deposits in these shallow waters and rely on <\/span>aids to navigation (ATON) \u2014 a system of beacons and buoys \u2014 to travel safely to and from the harbors and docks along the shoreline.<\/span>
\n
\nU.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) from Crisfield, Maryland, recently requested the assistance of NOAA\u2019s Office of Coast Survey to help identify areas where ATON were in need of repair, relocation, or removal due to the shifting sediment of these nearshore areas. Crew from NOAA research vessel <\/span>Bay Hydro II <\/span><\/i>and from navigation response team<\/a> (NRT) 1 (homeported in Stennis, Mississippi) operated an Echoboat autonomous surface vehicle<\/a> (ASV) from a USCG vessel to survey these shallow waters.\u00a0<\/span>
\n

\"Lt
Lt j.g. Patrick Debroisse (NOAA, junior officer in charge, Bay Hydro II) readies the Echoboat ASV for hydrographic survey in the nearshore waters of the Chesapeake Bay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n
\"Alex
Alex Ligon (NOAA, NRT 1) works with USCG Boatswain Mate (BM) 1 Lee Durfee, BM 2 Collin Blugis, and Machinery Technician 3 Matt Kemp to load the ASV on the USCG vessel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nThe team first visited Slaughter Creek, near Taylor\u2019s Island, where the USCG believed sediment in the channel was shifting, requiring potential ATON relocation. The second area was in Pocomoke River, east of Smith Island, where shoaling in the already shallow channel was of concern, as well as the existence of unused ATON anchors. The ASV, equipped with side scan sonar to search for underwater objects, and a multibeam echo sounder to check the contours of the channels, surveyed both areas.<\/span>
\nOnce the survey data is processed and delivered to the USCG ANT, they can make informed decisions about ATON maintenance. Finding old ATON anchors and recycling them back into service is a potential cost savings for the USCG. NOAA and the USCG plan to operate the Echoboat ASV in this area again, surveying the waters for a possible wreck in Fishing Bay and for old ATON moorings replaced by a day shape.<\/span>
\n
\"Echoboat
Echoboat ASV surveys in the Pocomoke River channel to investigate possible shoaling.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n
\"Alex
Alex Ligon (NOAA, NRT 1) watches the ASV data in real-time, which allows for real-time decision making for survey planning and preliminary products.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nCoast Survey recently surveyed the waters of\u00a0Lake Champlain<\/a>\u00a0using the Echoboat ASV.\u00a0 This portable unit provides flexibility and allows survey teams to further develop procedures and to train more individuals in its use for future operations around the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Lt j.g. Patrick Debroisse The area of the Chesapeake Bay along the Eastern Shore of Maryland is one of our nation\u2019s treasures. Home to unique underwater grasses, fish, and shellfish, this complex transition from river to sea is also home to millions of tons of sediment delivered annually from eroding land and streams. Recreational boaters, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “NOAA and Coast Guard survey shallow channels in eastern Chesapeake Bay to update aids to navigation”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,103,7,8,45,10,11,13,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-autonomous-systems","category-bathymetry","category-bay-hydro-ii","category-hydrographic-surveys","category-hydrography","category-mobile-integrated-survey-team","category-nautical-charts","category-navigation-response-teams","category-noaa","category-noaa-corps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171015"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182408,"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171015\/revisions\/182408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nauticalcharts.noaa.gov\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}