Abstract

With the recent increase in international maritime vessel length and draft, depth determinations in 10cm increments are needed to maintain safe navigation in confined waterways and harbors. The objective of this study is to develop a tidal model that can be applied to a bathymetric electronic chart, and used for determining of a dynamic depths as a decision-support tool for under-keel clearance.

One method currently used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the Tidal Constituent and Residual Interpolation (TCARI) method. TCARI has the ability to estimate the water level at a specific position for any location and instant in time. It can also produce a time-varying water level surface of the entire survey area. The TCARI method was applied to Guanabara Bay, Brazil generating a new tidal model. The TCARI forecast water level time series has been compared to water level observations in the bay and the tidal forecasts from the Brazilian Hydrographic Service. The results achieved by the model were similar to levels predicted by existing methods, and at some places were closer to the observed water level.

A methodology was developed to convert a high-resolution multi-beam echo sounder data into a bathymetric electronic chart that can be used to display dynamic depth areas. Water level depths based on the tidal model were then generated for specific areas where under-keel clearance determinations at 10cm intervals are crucial for decision-support.

Presenter Bio

Lieutenant Commander Cesar Borba is part of Brazilian Hydrographic Service Office’s staff. He graduated with a degree in Oceanography in 2002. Since then has worked on several projects in physical oceanography and hydrography. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree, focusing on tidal and tidal zoning.

Publication Date

8-21-2015

Document Type

Presentation

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