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The Ocean Mapping Community Wiki is hosted by the Multibeam Advisory Committee (MAC). This is a collaborative space to share resources and expertise from the global ocean mapping community, with the aim of improving data quality for all.

The value of this wiki depends on community involvement. Your helpful resources, best practices, and 'lessons learned' are welcome! Get involved by becoming a contributor or joining the public discussions and troubleshooting forums.

Announcements

Check out the Community Announcements and Awareness section for non-commercial news from around the ocean mapping community.

Contributing

We hope you'll add your expertise to the conversation and provide feedback.

See the Contribution Guidelines to see who is contributing and how we are moderating the site content.

Recently updated

1. Find proven multibeam test sites at the MBES Test Site Database (and contact us to add yours!)
2. Check out the Multibeam Survey Planning Template to help science parties define their mapping goals
3. Help out your navigators with the ECDIS Converter for survey line plans
4. Share non-commercial news under the Community Announcements and Awareness section
5. Concatenate files in the File Trimmer (e.g., for patch test processing)
6. The Swath Coverage Plotter now tracks changes in multibeam settings and offsets
7. Added a Wishlist for priority topics - chime in!
8. Started a Software Updates page to easily find the latest versions of common mapping software
9. Added an informal list of Top 10 Multibeam Issues to highlight common complications (and solutions)
10. Made a new page for Sea Acceptance Testing (and Quality Assurance Testing) to discuss approaches and expectations

Note: Force-refresh your browser cache (e.g., F5) if links appear misdirected.

Multibeam topics

A wide variety of topics have been suggested by partners in academia, government, and industry.

This list is under development; suggestions are welcome!

1. Dimensional control - sensor offsets and survey info required for system performance
2. Calibration - resources for calibrating multibeam sonars
3. SAT/QAT approaches - sea acceptance trials (SAT) and quality assurance testing (QAT)
4. Sound speed - recommendations for incorporating sound speed into survey operations
5. Data acquisition - key requirements and recommendations during acquisition
6. Data processing - available software and resources for processing
7. Backscatter processing - guidance for improving backscatter imagery
8. Backscatter normalization - steps for correcting hardware-level biases
9. Assessment tools - tools to help assess multibeam data quality and performance
10. Transit mapping - route planning to map the gaps and verify system performance
11. Troubleshooting - common symptoms and solutions to augment manufacturer support

Other mapping topics

Resources for other systems, from the surface through the sediments.

Mapping basics

1. Seafloor Mapping Glossary - helpful terms and examples

ADCP resources

1. UHDAS - University of Hawaii Data Acquisition System for ADCPs
2. UHDAS Presentation at RVTEC 2020

Midwater mapping

See the Water Column Mapping page for more information.

1. Calibration of Acoustic Instruments - how to perform TS sphere calibrations
2. What is Water Column Data? - NOAA overview and outreach
3. Water Column Sonar Data Viewer - find publicly available water column data
4. Water Column Mapping - UNH overview
5. Midwater Mapping Working Group

Subbottom profiling

1. Sub-bottom Profiler Guidelines

Positioning

1. GPS Visualization

Resources

Below are a few helpful resources to find, manage and evaluate ocean mapping data.

Open-source data tools

1. HydrOffice - a collaborative research-to-operations framework, including Sound Speed Manager and QC Tools
2. Ocean Data Tools - tools for data acquisition, management and event logging, including OpenRVDAS, OpenVDM and Sealog
3. GMRT Tiler - a package for comparing processed data to the GMRT grid to identify issues with sound velocity, etc., and ensure suitability for archive
4. MB-SYSTEM - an open source package commonly used for automated / scripted processing of data from AUVs and other vehicles
5. CoFFee - a free and open-source MATLAB toolbox (i.e. libary of functions) for reading multibeam sonar raw data files, visualizing their contents, and applying various processsing algorithms. Currently in development. It serves as the engine for several apps/GUIs designed for specific applications, such as Iskaffe for multibeam backscatter data QC.
6. themachinethatgoesping is a python library to perform advanced processing of multibeam and singlebeam echosounder data. Currently in development.
7. Awesome Hydrospatial - a library of open-source software related to seafloor mapping
8. Free and Offline Mapping Software - focused on free GIS resources
9. Cloud Compare - a tool for visualizing multibeam data and doing simple analysis.
10. kepler.gl - geospatial analysis tool for large-scale data sets.

Best practices

1. Ocean Best Practices - a repository for ocean science SOPs from around the world
2. NEW LINK PENDING: IHO-IO GEBCO Cookbook - a technical reference manual focused on how to build grids
3. NOAA OER Deepwater Exploration Mapping - a reference for NOAA OER mapping operations on the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer
4. Australian Multibeam Guidelines - a technical reference manual focused on multibeam operations
5. Sub-bottom Profiler Guidelines

Helpful presentations and papers

1. Water column, backscatter, and accuracy webinars for the Canadian Hydrographic Association
2. Sonar Synchronization and Tradeoffs - managing interference to meet survey goals
3. Rolling Deck to Repository Overview - 2020 RVTEC
4. Open Vessel Data Management - 2020 RVTEC
5. Lessons Learned from a Successful Integration of the EM 304 MKII Variant Multibeam Sonar
6. Ocean Exploration in a Data-Rich World - white paper from 2022 National Ocean Exploration Forum
7. Exploring the use of Sound Speed Profiles... - 2022 Ocean Sciences
8. Calibration of Acoustic Instruments - Summarizes fundamental sonar theory and details calibration methods.
9. Multibeam Sonar Theory of Operation - a clear overview of sonar concepts (multibeam and sidescan)

Why map the ocean?

Most of this wiki focuses on how to map the watery 71% of our planet. Here are a few examples of why.

Beyond the critical role of safety of navigation, ocean mapping is important for a wide array of reasons:

1. confirming plate tectonics and ancient oceans
2. understanding ocean circulation and climate
3. studying historic tsunamis and present risks
4. managing fisheries and food sources
5. tracking sources of greenhouse gases
6. routing global submarine cables
7. catching up to maps of our moon and Mars

Multibeam Advisory Committee

The NSF-funded Multibeam Advisory Committee (MAC) was established in 2010 to support high-quality multibeam data collection in the U.S. Academic Research Fleet (USARF). Typical MAC support follows a prioritized list of steps, adapted for each interaction to address the vessel's science needs within the constraints of ship scheduling and working areas. All reports are publicly available for reference.

While the MAC is funded to support the USARF, its members work with a wide variety of mapping programs and platforms through UNH CCOM/JHC and Columbia University LDEO. The MAC hosts this wiki to share and improve its approach (e.g., test procedures and assessment tools) as just one part of a broader community effort toward high-quality data collection from the sea surface through the sediment.

Contact us

Please contact us at [email protected] with feedback or contributions.

Banner image from 2021 Saildrone Surveyor EM2040 SAT in San Francisco Bay