1400 Meter Plume Discovered
off the Northern California Coast
Latest Fledermaus Technology
Used to Visualize Massive Plume
Portsmouth, NH, September 2009- Fledermaus'
latest technology, mid-water visualization, has helped scientists to
discover a 1400-meter plume off the northern California margin.
While on a cruise to test the new Kongsberg
EM302 multibeam sonar in May 2009, the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer,
discovered a 1400 m high plume rising from the seafloor. The feature
was noticed in the online display of the water-column data of the sonar,
and further analyzed in the new Fledermaus mid-water visualization tool.
The ship returned to the area in July, verified that the plume was still
active, and detected a number of other plumes ranging in height from
700 to 1400 m in a 15 km area around the original discovery.
James V. Gardner and Mashkoor Malik (of
The Center for Coastal & Ocean Mapping (CCOM) UNH and NOAA, respectively)
participated on the cruise, and provided details of the discovery in
the August 11, 2009 issue of EOS. Scientists cannot yet be certain of
the composition, but they do feel reasonably certain that the plume
is not a hydrothermal vent associated with the eastern section of the
Mendocino Fracture Zone. The region is known for both subsurface and
water-column gas; however, the reported gas plumes are confined to water
depths of less than 200 meters. The discovery of this plume is significant
because none has been reported in this area from such depths.
Moe Doucet, Chief System Architect for
IVS 3D, noted. "IVS 3D jointly funded a project with a grant from
the New Hampshire Innovation Research Center to support CCOM in the
ongoing research and development of tools for the analysis and exploitation
of multibeam sonar water column data. Until now, the users of these
sonars had a limited view of the mid-water data in real-time, and limited
capacity to store it, replay it, or run further analysis. The
data also needs to be integrated with other sensor assets such as bathymetry,
backscatter, sub-bottom, sea-floor characterizations and other assets
so that a 'complete' picture of the marine environment under analysis
can be realized. This discovery is just one example of the emerging
uses of this type of data analysis."
A video
of the plume discovery is
available on the IVS website, courtesy of CCOM and NOAA. The full discovery
report is also available, and can
be downloaded here.
Interactive Visualization Systems (IVS
3D) was founded in 1995 as the developer of the Fledermaus 3D visualization
and analysis software suite. Government, commercial and academic clients
in all areas of ocean mapping use the software internationally.
The Fledermaus software stands apart
in providing scientists and engineers with interactive and intuitive
tools for processing, quality control, and analysis of multibeam sonar
and related data. Its use significantly improves efficiencies in areas
such as; nautical charting, geologic interpretation, the assessment
of seabed habitats, planning routes for pipelines and cables, and the
identification of geohazards during engineering development.
If you would like more information on
this topic, or to schedule an interview, please contact
Carole Mahoney at 207-636-7887
or via email: carole@minternetmarketing.com