Office of Coast Survey

Bathymetric RadarBathymetric Radar

Presented by

David B. EnabnitTechnical Director, Office of Coast Survey, NOAA

Office of Coast Survey

Bathymetric Radar Concept1. Common marine X-Band radar is used to image the ocean waves.

2. Using computer processing, extract the wave speed and wave length from the sea clutter image

3. The ‘dispersion relation’ for water waves relates wave speed, wave length and water depth.

Speed = √(gλ/2π)tanh(2πDepth/ λ)

4. Solve the dispersion relation for depth.

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Bathymetric Radar

• Technical performance indicates Bathymetric Radar could deliver improved information for navigation.

• A body of knowledge and a research community exits.• The entry cost should be affordable.• It will have significant shortcomings initially.• Research and patience will be required.

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Traditional Charting Practices• Soundings are many years old• Charted depths are “adjusted” for many reasons• Further “adjustments” are made by mariners• Other situation information is not provided, e.g. currents

Radar Bathymetry-Based Model• Provides real-time total water depths• No mariner adjustments needed• Additional real-time navigation situation information• Reduces data collection costs and time substantially• Supports traditional charting practices also

Charting Model Comparison

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Alternative Operational Concepts

• Permanent installations– Measure all parameters in real-time; process data ‘in the cloud’; transmit

results to ships– Also use data later for chart compilation

• Semi-mobile installations – Move to site of interest, install, survey,

move to next site– Small boat or land installation– Use like traditional survey; post-process data for

chart compilation

• Ship-based installations– Use like traditional survey; post-process data for

chart compilation

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A Future Chart Concept

Bathy Radar

NOAA Computer Center or ‘the Cloud’

ECDIS 2.0 (Chart of the Future)

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Bathymetric RadarPotential Real-Time Data Sets

Real-time data:

1.Total water depth2.Waves3.Surface currents4.Vessel traffic5.Buoy location6.Bridge clearance7.Tides 8.Wind9.Oil spills10.Ice

Other factors:

1.Works day or night2.Works in rain or fog3.No ship required4.Radars are cheap and mature5.Potentially usable from moving platform6.EPFS backup7.Supports traditional charting

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Demonstrated Bathymetric Radar Performance †

• Performance– 5 KM range– Horizontal resolution of

2 to 3 times the depth– 3-20 m depth range– Depth accuracy 0.25m for

d<10m; 2.5% of depth for 10m<d<20m

– 10 min. duty cycle– 3 knot minimum wind

† Using linear wave theory

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Bathymetric RadarPotential Limitations

1. Suitable waves must be present2. The horizontal resolution is worse than sonar3. Range limit of approximately 5 Km4. Shallow water tool (2-20 meters)5. Radar should be on an elevated platform6. Currents might need to be accounted for7. Ice defeats waves8. Isolated dangers may not be detected9. Channel slopes may not image correctly10.Still developmental

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Current Activity

• Team building• Build list of scientific research questions• Performance baseline experiment• Determine technical feasibility• Consider operational scenarios• Secure funding

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Technical Approach

• Determine bathymetric radar technical feasibility– Produce algorithms to compute water depth and position from X-

Band radar signals – Measure the precision, accuracy, depth and position resolution, and

maximum and minimum depths achieved – Compare the achieved results with sonar survey and with standards

for hydrographic surveys– Identify science needed to achieve standards-compliant data– Evaluate as an operational tool

• Use SBIR† to engage industry• Use NOAA for ground truth and additional analysis

† Small Business Innovate Research program

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Schedule Using the SBIR† Phase I and II

• Sept. 2013 – SBIR Phase I contract selection• Nov. 2013 to June 2014 – Feasibility experiments and radar

bathymetry evaluation.• Mar. 2014 to June 2017– Follow-on research specification

and initiate execution.• Nov. 2014 to May 2015 – SBIR Phase II competition and award

for an operational prototype.• Sept. 2017 – SBIR Phase II completion. Operational

deployments begin.

† Small Business Innovate Research program

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Outcome of KHOA/KIOST/NOAA Collaboration• Technical knowledge• An informed assessment of the operational potential for

bathymetric radar• Partial fulfillment of the JPA purposes

Goal of KHOA/KIOST/NOAA Collaboration• An operational, bathymetric radar system providing real-time,

comprehensive, decision-ready information to mariners

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Risks and Risk Mitigation

• Scientific risk – reduce through research like JPA project• Environmental risk – reduce through early operations

research, e.g. GIS suitability analysis• Distribution risk – reduce by performing Internet

‘connectivity’ mapping• Regulatory risk – reduce by collaboration with regulatory

bodies, e.g. Maritime Safety Administrations, IMO• Operational risk – Manage through establishment of standard

operating procedures and cloud-based software• Liability risk - Manage as appropriate• Funding risk – Increase number of participants

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Suitability Analysis – Southern California• Archived wind & wave data from 2012 was gathered from

buoys and wind observing stations• Binary classification of all observations (1=suitable,

0=unsuitable); suitable obs divided by total obs to give suitability percentage for each variable at each point for the entire year

• Raster data surfaces interpolated from point data representing suitability

percentage for each variable

BathyRadar combined suitability values within 0 – 20m water depth zones near 3 California ports ofhttp://www.terpconnect.umd.edu/~ngarret1/Capstone/WebPage/research.html

• Grid values for each variable were summed, with no weighting, & reclassified resulting in combined suitability (scale of 10 – 20) with higher values being more suitable

• Very favorable conditions near Port of S.D. & moderate to good BathyRadar suitability near L.A. & L.B.

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Opportunities for KHOA/KIOST Participation

• Review the SBIR proposals (completed)• Collaborate on the development of the experiment plan• Develop scientific expertise in bathymetric radar• Review the experiment results• Identify needed scientific research• Perform an independent analysis of the radar data• Perform operations research on supporting topics, e.g. GIS

suitability analysis• Recruit interested parties such as Korean radar companies• Support the effort as a JPA-funded activity• Provide oversight of the work

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Other Topics

• KHOA/KIOST concerns, motivations and desired outcomes• Intellectual property rights• Working under the JPA and upcoming JPA meeting (July 2013)• KHOA/KIOST ability to participate directly?• Travel• Electronic conferencing support

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Contact Information

David B. EnabnitTechnical Director (N/CSx1)Office of Coast Survey, NOAA1315 East West HighwaySilver Spring, Maryland, 20910 USA

(e-mail) dave.enabnit@noaa.gov(phone) 301-713-2770 x132(fax) 301-713-4019

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Evolving Navigation Support

• Information – static collection of reference material– Charts and publications; Marine Information Overlays

• Situation – where you are, what’s around you, what’s happening or likely to happen– Real-time position; Alarms ; AIS

• Procedure – tools to do things– Route and voyage planning tools; Reporting tools, e.g. NOAD

• Decision – synthesize information into advice – From the U.S. Coast Pilot “The numerous snags along the creek can

be avoided by staying in midstream, and the island 0.3 mile above the mouth should be kept to the north.”

– Route optimization