In April, the installation of new scientific equipment was completed on the UFF research vessel, Ciências do Mar III. The installed equipment belongs to the Department of Geology and Geophysics and came in addition to others that had been assembled during the construction phase of the ship.
The ship was fitted with an Edgetech Model 272 TD side-scan sonar system that generates a sonographic image of the seabed, enabling mapping of seabed geology. The generated mosaics also allow the identification of objects and shipwrecks located on the bottom of the sea. In addition, two high-resolution seismic systems were installed. The first is an Edgetech 3200 XS subbottom profiling system capable of operating in areas up to 500 m deep. A Geometrics MicroEel multichannel seismic system with Boomer source (Applied Acoustics S-Boom) with power to operate up to 200 meters deep was also installed. These equipment are used to map the geological layers below the seafloor. Combined, the two systems have an investigation capacity of up to 100 m below the bottom with a vertical resolution of the order of 1 m.
The ship also received the Geometrics Model G882 marine magnetometer. This equipment is used for detecting metallic objects on and below the seabed such as underwater pipelines, shipwrecks, etc., and for mapping the the rocky basement in offshore sedimentary basins. Together with other scientific equipment that was already installed on the ship (double-frequency single-beam echo sounder and ADCP), the Ciencias do Mar III is qualified to carry out high-resolution geophysical surveys for different types of projects related to the areas of underwater engineering and the environment. environment. For more technical details about the equipment, visit https://www.cienciasdomar3.com.br/geofisica/.