 HMRG
scientists and engineers have collaborated with colleagues at Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory, Tulane University, Arctic Submarine Laboratory, Raytheon
Systems Company, Ocean Data Equipment Corporation, Electric Boat, and
Johns Hopkins University to develop seafloor mapping tools to explore
the uncharted Arctic Basin. In the Arctic, conventional mapping from surface
ships is impossible due to the year-round presence of sea ice. The Seafloor
Characterization And Mapping Pods (SCAMP) incorporates a SeaMARC-12 swath
mapping sonar and a High Resolution Subbottom Profiler mounted on the
hull of a U.S. Navy fast attack submarine enabling synoptic detailed seafloor
mapping under the ice. First deployed during SCICEX98, the SCAMP system
mapped parts of the Alaska continental margin and the Gakkel Ridge (the
slowest spreading midocean ridge in the world). During SCICEX99, the SCAMP
system extended the coverage of charts on the Gakkel Ridge and Alaska
Margin, and collected more than 20 days of data over the Chukchi Cap,
Lomonosov Ridge, and Yermak Plateau. |
