Z-Boat Shipped to University of Washington Tacoma

Teledyne Oceanscience has shipped a custom Z-Boat 1800-RP to The University of Washington Tacoma to be used by Dr. Dan Shugar, Assistant Professor of Geoscience, when he heads out on two remote locations in Alaska and Canada this summer.

The custom integration for the University of Washington Tacoma included the Rugged Z-Boat 1800RP, Teledyne Odom Hydrographic MB2 Multibeam, Teledyne RD Instruments RiverPro ADCP, a camera, IMU and onboard computer. 

In early August, Shugar will head to Taan Fiord, an arm of Icy Bay in the rugged St Elias Mountains of southeast Alaska, to study one of the largest landslides in recent decades. The landslide partially covered the terminus of the tidewater Tyndall Glacier, releasing most of the debris into the fjord and triggering a massive tsunami. Shugar’s National Science Foundation-supported bathymetric mapping mission will occur in tandem with a second multibeam sonar mission using the Teledyne Reson T50P lead by Dr. Sean Gulick of The University of Texas at Austin. A better understanding of fjord bathymetry will feed into more accurate tsunami models.

Then in late August, Shugar will travel to the glacier-fed Slims River in Kluane National Park, Yukon, Canada. Because glacial rivers are often shallow and swift, traditional survey vessels and larger MB2 sonars have not typically been employed. In the Slims River, the Z-Boat and MB2 will be used to map the bathymetry of the river in unprecedented detail. When combined with flow data from the ADCP, Shugar and his students will be able to better understand how velocity and discharge affect river geomorphology.

Teledyne Oceanscience Z-Boat 1800’s new ruggedized design is IP67-rated and incorporates a modular deck structure for antennas, cameras and additional sensor mounting, making this Z-Boat suitable for shallow coastal mapping applications. The ruggedized package features a unique interchangeable sensor well design by Oceanscience, which accommodates a range of instruments including the Teledyne Odom Hydrographic MB1, MB2 and CV100, various Teledyne RDI ADCPs and Tritech Side Scan Sonars. Custom sensor integrations are available. Sensors are easily interchanged from beneath the vehicle. A drone upgrade with waypoint navigation is available to offer laser-straight survey lines and precise positioning for large area or repeating surveys. 

The MB2 Multibeam Echosounder from Teledyne Odom Hydrographic has been developed for fast mobilization on vessels of opportunity, small survey launches and ASVs. Optimized for shallow water survey companies, port and harbor authorities, dredging companies and other users looking for an easy to use, quick to deploy, high resolution system. The MB2 features a dedicated cylindrical transmit array and broad range of sounding frequencies improving on the performance of the MB1 Multibeam by offering a wider coverage and narrower acoustic beam. Using both amplitude and phase bottom detection, the MB2 Multibeam is capable of sounding a swath of up to 140° in up to 110m water depth. 

Teledyne RD Instruments 1200 kHz 5-beam RiverPro Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) quickly and accurately measures the water flow and discharge in shallow rivers and streams, ranging from 20cm to 25m in depth. The RiverPro ADCP utilizes a 20 degree beam, allowing users to accurately measure flow more closely to the riverbed, while its 600kHz 5th beam collects true vertical velocity as well as range to bottom. The highly advanced RiverPro ADCP also offers auto-adaptive sampling, enabling simple, automated data collection for new users, as well as an optional manual override function for advanced users.

Teledyne Marine’s broad scope of vehicles and sensors allowed the University of Washington Tacoma to source an integrated Teledyne solution from the team at Oceanscience.