The survey systems are capable of operating at depths up to 6,000 m. They were once used by Fugro in the deep waters of the Southern Indian Ocean during the search for MH370. Fugro no longer needs them in daily operations and is happy to donate them to CSIRO. The systems will now be used onboard CSIRO’s research vessel Investigator, enabling their Australian ocean and environmental research, such as high-resolution deep-sea mapping and the study of biodiversity in deepwater benthic habitats.
“We sincerely thank Fugro for their generous donation of these systems, which will further enhance the impressive scientific capabilities that CSIRO research vessel Investigator offers to the Australian marine and atmospheric research community,” said Toni Moate, CSIRO Marine National Facility Director.
“Fugro is delighted that CSIRO will be incorporating this into the already extensive capabilities of the Investigator research vessel. We are excited by the research opportunities that this deep tow equipment can offer to the Australian scientific research community,” added Nina Levy, Fugro Service Line Manager, Geophysics & Hydrography Pacific.
Fugro also actively contributes further to the understanding of ocean health and coastal environments across Australia and the Indo-Pacific through the use of advanced autonomous and remotely operated vessels, airborne lidar bathymetry for nearshore studies, and satellite-derived bathymetry alongside other earth observation datasets.
