Marine scientists working with the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (COMIT) at the USF College of Marine Science (USF CMS) and NOAA launched a field mission in Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico to test a new approach to mapping shallow coastal areas—the most vulnerable to coastal changes and storm events, but the hardest to survey. More than 50 percent of our nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) remains unmapped, and experts say new approaches are needed. Leveraging SeaTrac’s SP-48 uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), the team used a suite of technologies with applications for national priorities in coastal resilience and emergency response.

Base Platform and Equipment 

At the heart of the mission was SeaTrac’s SP-48 USV, a solar- and battery-powered platform capable of operating in both offshore and shallow waters. It was equipped with acoustic sensors that cooperated with laser-based sensors mounted on an airplane and satellite-derived imagery.

Technology in Flight

The USV data was complemented by airplane surveys executed by a global company called Fugro that developed a lightweight survey technology called a Rapid Airborne Multibeam Mapping System (RAMMS). In total, the survey area covered about 90 square miles.

The equipment succeeded in generating high-resolution maps of the target coastal areas in a more efficient and less time-consuming method. The mapping products from this study will be used to improve storm surge modeling and prediction, maritime safety, fisheries management, coastal resiliency and other sustainability initiatives with the blue-green economy.