dws-fugro-ramms-turks-caicos-aerial-730px
Fugro has completed a land and sea data acquisition campaign over the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory, marking the first commercial success of its new Rapid Airborne Multibeam Mapping System (RAMMS).

Working under contract to the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO), Fugro deployed its new RAMMS airborne mapping system to acquire over 7,400 sq km of integrated, high-resolution data in the Turks and Caicos islands. The resulting deliverables will support updated nautical charts and coastal zone management activities in the region.

Next generation mapping
Launched in August 2018, RAMMS is a highly efficient, next-generation airborne bathymetric mapping system that uses multibeam laser technology to deliver industry-leading depth penetration and point densities.

The compact sensor is deployed from small aircraft and can be easily integrated with other remote sensing technologies for simultaneous collection of multiple complementary datasets.

dws-fugro-ramms-turks-caicos-350px  Image of a detailled RAMMS land and sea data collection as released by Fugro in August last year.

Single deployment
For the Turks and Caicos Islands project, this approach made it possible to acquire nearshore (bathymetry) and coastal (topography and imagery) data in a single deployment, producing a cost-effective solution and advancing Fugro’s sustainability goals by significantly reducing fuel consumption.

"After years of development, it’s extremely gratifying to operate RAMMS commercially and to demonstrate to clients the value that this cutting-edge technology can bring", said Mark MacDonald, Fugro Americas Marine Division hydrographic service line director.

High point densities
MacDonald referred to the massive Turks and Caicos Islands project as an example. "The system’s multibeam lidar capability allowed us to achieve point densities that otherwise would have required vessel-based surveys. With RAMMS, we were able to avoid that additional time and expense, and significantly reduce health and safety exposure."

Three other projects
Fugro is currently working on three additional RAMMS projects in the Americas region, one for UKHO in Belize, and two for the Canadian Hydrographic Society (CHS), in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. These projects are similar in scope to that of the Turks and Caicos Islands project, combining bathymetry, topography and imagery for maximum value to clients, serving both navigation and coastal applications.

This news item was originally published on the website of Fugro.

(Photos: Fugro)

Read also on this website
Fugro contracted for detailed survey Pacific island country of Tuvalu, 5 December 2018
Fugro supports Seabed 2030 initiative to map entire world’s ocean floor, 28 February 2018
Fugro’s Equator takes aboard last underwater data on MH370 search, 23 January 2017
Expertise: Enabling delta life

More information
Fugro
Leidschendam, the Netherlands
+31 70 311 1422
www.fugro.com