NOAA Begins Effort to Map Arctic Sea Floors

Officials with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announce that the research vessel Rainier has just begun a month-long mapping operation in the Arctic. The goal here is to produce an accurate, up-to-date map of the Arctic sea floor.

At this point, ship captains operate their vessels based on maps that were created decades ago, using less efficient instruments. At the same time, not all waters that are now available for traffic were opened when the older documents were produced.

In the Arctic, global warming acts especially swift, having already cleared vast portions of ocean from their perennial ice covers. Now, these regions can be traveled safely by boat, although no maps of the sea floor at these areas are available.

The RV Rainier is to sail over these newly-uncovered regions, and map them in an effort to determine whether new shipping lanes may be opened in previously-inaccessible waters. As the influence of global warming will increase, even more sea surface might become available.

In addition to its contribution to marine navigation, the NOAA ships will also be providing scientists with new data on marine ecosystems at these locations, as well as updated threat assessments for communities living in areas prone to be affected by tsunamis,

“We are pleased to return to Alaska to continue these important surveys, which will ensure the safe navigation of mariners who rely on the area’s waters for fishing, cargo delivery and recreational uses,” explains NOAA Corps Captain Donald Haines.

The official, who is both the commanding officer of RV Rainier and its chief scientist, says that NOAA first began the survey effort back in 2006, around the Gulf of Esquilbel. For the past five years, the research vessel has been moving to new grids, updating existing charts.

Experts from the agency explain that the vessel features a highly-advanced sonar system, which enables the ship not only to scan the sea floor, but also to produce three-dimensional models of structures beneath the waves.

“Rainier last visited the area in 2009 before undergoing a year-long, $13.1-million major repair period during which the ship was outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment to conduct its survey missions with even greater efficiency and accuracy,” a NOAA press release explains.

“Equipped with five 29-foot survey boats and high precision sonar and positioning equipment, Rainier is one of the most productive survey platforms of its type in the world. Rainier’s crew of 50 is comprised of NOAA Corps officers and civilian wage mariners, both licensed and unlicensed,” the statement concludes.