The Sonardyne International is making headlines for installing a deepwater acoustic tracking technology onboard its research vessel.
The organization is in the news, for developing ‘Ranger 2’, deepwater acoustic tracking technology that has been installed onboard the German research vessel ‘Maria S. Merian’.
The technology was reportedly delivered by Sonardyne’s in-country agent Scholz Ingenieur Büro and has replaced the vessel’s existing third-party Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) acoustic equipment.
Tracks accurately:
The solution obtained from the research will enable researchers on-board the vessel to accurately track the position of deepwater science systems, including unmanned robotic platforms and seafloor landers, beyond a 7km range.
Scholz Ingenieur Büro official Jan Wommelsdorff said, “The new technology was delivered by Sonardyne’s in-country agent Scholz Ingenieur Büro and replaced the vessel’s existing third-party Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) acoustic equipment. This is the first Sonardyne Ranger 2 GyroUSBL to be fitted to a German research ship and is a key technology for enabling the country’s scientists to work in demanding deep-sea environments”.
Vessel specs:
The research vessel ‘Maria S. Merian’ is operated by the German Research Vessels Control Station at the University of Hamburg’s Institute of Geology. It focuses on conducting research at the sea bottom, water column and atmospheric observations in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic regions.
The vessel features an ice-breaking reinforced hull and has also been deployed within the subpolar Norwegian Sea.
GyroUSBL:
The upgrade initiative also saw the vessel equipped with Sonardyne’s GyroUSBL instrument which includes a USBL transceiver and high-grade inertial navigation sensor. GyroUSBL is intended to maximise precision by reducing common sources of USBL system errors, including lever arm offsets, pole bending and ship flexing.
The device is set to be deployed during science missions to track Wideband Sub-Mini 6+ transponders attached to scientific equipment in the water.
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Source: Ship Technology
