Sonardyne's PIES to Monitor U.S. Gulf Current

摘要

Sonardyne International will be used as part of a $2 million scientific study of disruptive ocean currents in the US Gulf of Mexico. The multi-year deployment, led by the University of Rhode Island (URI)'s Graduate School of Oceanography, will monitor the Loop Current System (LCS) using Sonardyne's Pressure Inverted Echo Sounders (PIES). The LCS is the dominant ocean circulation feature in the Gulf of Mexico. It influences all ocean processes in the Gulf and has implications for a wide range of human and natural activities, from oil exploration to coastal eco-systems, but, knowledge of its underlying dynamics is limited. URI's initial study aims to improve the understanding and prediction of the LCS by deploying a seabed network of PIES plus near-bottom current meters to monitor the central Gulf's deep waters.