OPR-N360-NRTSE-23 Southern Puget Sound Southern Puget Sound NOAA NRT-Seattle H13631 1 Eld Inlet Washington United States 10000 2023 LTJG Patrick Faha Navigable Area 2023-05-19 2023-05-23 2023-06-23 Multibeam Echo Sounder Side Scan Sonar meters UTC Pacific Hydrographic Branch Any revisions to the Descriptive Report (DR) applied during office processing are shown in red italic text. The DR is maintained as a field unit product, therefore all information and recommendations within this report are considered preliminary unless otherwise noted. The final disposition of survey data is represented in the NOAA nautical chart products. All pertinent records for this survey are archived at the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and can be retrieved via https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/. Products created during office processing were generated in NAD83 UTM 10N, MLLW. All references to other horizontal or vertical datums in this report are applicable to the processed hydrographic data provided by the field unit. CC0-1.0 (NOAA Field Units) CC0-1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode These data were produced by NOAA and are in the public domain within the United States. NOAA waives any potential copyright and related rights in these data worldwide through the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0). NOAA The survey area is located in South Puget Sound (Salish Sea) within the sub locality of Eld Inlet on the ancestral waters of the Squi' Aitl band of the Squaxin Island and Nisqually Tribes of the Coast Salish people (Figure 2). 47.15291666666666 123.006 47.07655555555556 122.92552777777779 H13631 sheet limits on chart US4WA10M file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_Sheetlimits.GIF Indigenous place names for South Puget Sound (Salish Sea) courtesy the Squaxin Island Tribe. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/Squaxin_inlets.jpg Data were acquired to the survey limits in accordance with the requirements in the Project Instructions and the 2022 NOS Hydrographic Surveys Specifications and Deliverables (HSSD) with the exceptions noted bellow. This survey was accomplished using Multibeam Echo Sounder and Side Scan Sonar. In all areas where the 3.5 meter depth contour or the sheet limits were not met, the Navigable Area Limit Line (NALL) was defined as the inshore limit of bathymetry due to the safety of maneuvering the survey vessel in shallow non-navigationaly significant areas, presences of anchored and moored vessels, or other charted features and shoreline construction. The primary purpose of this project is to provide contemporary hydrographic data to update NOAA’s nautical charting products to improve the safety of maritime traffic. Survey data from this project is intended to supersede all prior survey data in the common area. The entire survey is adequate to supersede previous data. Data acquired for H13631 meet multibeam echo sounder (MBES) and side scan sonar (SSS) coverage requirements for object detection, as required by the HSSD with the exceptions noted in this report. This includes crosslines (see Section B.2.1), NOAA allowable uncertainty (see Section B.2.2), and density requirements. The surface was analyzed using the HydrOffice QC Tools Grid QA feature. Density requirements for H13631 were achieved with at least 99.5% of surface nodes containing five or more soundings as required by HSSD Section 5.2.2.3. (Figures 3 -4). The few nodes that did not meet density requirements are due to sparse data in the outer beams, especially near steep sand waves, slopes and rocky areas where acoustic shadowing occurred, and at the edges of the survey limits. Pydro derived histogram plot showing HSSD object detection compliance for H13631 MBES within the finalized 1m CUBE surface. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_MB_1m_MLLW_Final_eroded.GQv6.density.png Pydro derived histogram plot showing HSSD object detection compliance for H13631 MBES within the finalized 50cm CUBE surface. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_MB_50cm_MLLW_Final_eroded.GQv6.density.png All waters in survey area Object Detection Coverage (Refer to HSSD Section 5.2.2.2) Data were acquired for H13631 using MBES (Figure 5) and SSS (Figure 6) in accordance with the requirements in the Project Instructions and the 2022 NOS HSSD with the exceptions noted bellow. H13631 data were reviewed in CARIS HIPS and SIPS for holidays in accordance with Section 5.2.2.2 of the HSSD MBES holidays were identified via HydrOffice QC Tools Holiday Finder tool. This tool automatically scans the surface for holidays as defined in the HSSD and was run in conjunction with a visual inspection of the surface by the hydrographer. One holiday exists within the 1m surface and 148 exist in the 50cm surface. The majority of the holidays in the 50cm surface fall within areas covered by sidescan. The remaining 13 fall within areas of full MBES coverage. Attempts were made to identify and recollect data over gaps prior to leaving the survey area. This method is complicated however due to CARIS processing not reproducing identical surfaces between iterations despite using identical parameters. MBES data gaps are generally due to lack of density of coverage. Additional factors leading to data gaps include: the presence of moored vessels and restricted inshore and shallow water maneuverability; and gaps created during office processing while cleaning out the numerous schooling fish-balls present though out the survey area (See section B.2.6). The surfaces were carefully reviewed in these instances and no navigational significant features were noted in the vicinity of these data gaps and surfaces are deemed sufficient to supersede previous data. Side Scan holidays exist in areas throughout the survey where 200% coverage was not quite achieved. Two separate proof of coverage mosaic were created and overplayed on each other and the MB surfaces to identify area of incompetent coverage (Figure 7). Gaps exist along the margins of the survey, where lines run at different headings intersect, where blowouts occurred, and where overlap was not quite fully achieved. Due to lack of experience with SSS surveys, these gaps were not identified during acquisition period and remain in the final products. All areas have at a minimum 100% SSS coverage and SSS data was carefully reviewed in these instances and all significant features have adequate coverage and the data is deemed sufficient to supersede previous data. H13631 multibeam survey coverage on ENC US4WA10M file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_Coverage_MB.GIF H13631 side scan survey coverage (in gray scale) over multibeam (rainbow) on ENC US4WA10M file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_Coverage_MB_SSS.GIF MBES coverage (rainbow) with 100% SSS (bright green) and 200% SSS (gray scale) on top. Examples of 200% coverage gaps circled along margins of the survey (purple), where lines run at different headings intersect (orange), where blowouts occurred (blue), and where overlap was not quite fully achieved (red). file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_CoverageGaps.GIF S3006 0.0 137.0183 0.0 72.5085 0.0 0.0 0.0 11.9606 0.0 0.0 137.01838 0.0 72.8058 0.0 0.0 0.0 11.9606 0.0 8.7 4 0 0 0 3.06 2023-05-23 2023-05-24 2023-05-25 2023-05-26 2023-06-01 2023-06-02 2023-06-07 2023-06-08 2023-06-09 2023-06-20 2023-06-21 2023-06-22 2023-06-23 This survey was collected from 05/23/2023 to 06/23/2023 by NRT Seattle personnel. Refer to the Data Acquisition and Processing Report (DAPR) for a complete description of data acquisition and processing systems, survey vessels, quality control procedures and data processing methods. Additional information to supplement sounding and survey data, and any deviations from the DAPR are discussed in the following sections. Hull ID S3006 34.0 4.0 S3006 in Puget Sound file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/Manda_20180419_132724.jpg MBES Kongsberg Maritime EM 2040C SSS EdgeTech 4125 Positioning and Attitude System Applanix POS MV 320 v5 Sound Speed System AML Oceanographic MicroX SV Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth Sensor YSI CastAway-CTD The equipment was installed on S3006. The vessel is equipped with POS MV v5 system for positioning and attitude, Kongsberg EM 2040C for MBES, EdgeTech 4125 sidescan sonar, AML Oceanographic MicroX SVS surface sound speed sensor, and YSI CastAway-CTD casts. Multibeam crosslines were collected by S3006 across a variety of depth ranges and water masses. Crosslines were collected, processed and compared in accordance with Section 5.2.4.2 of the HSSD. A Variable Resolution (VR) surface was created of only mainscheme lines, and a second VR surface was created of only crosslines (Figure 9). A difference surface was generated with Pydro tool 'Compare Grids' by subtracting the crossline only surface from the mainscheme surface (mainscheme- crosslines= difference surface), from which statistics were derived. Statistics show the mean difference between the depths derived from mainscheme data and crossline data was 0.00 meters and 95% of nodes falling within 0.13 meters (Figure10). For the respective depths, the difference surface was compared to the allowable NOAA uncertainty standards (Figure 11). In total, 99.5% of the depth differences between H13631 mainscheme and crossline data were within allowable NOAA uncertainties (Figure 12). The coloring represents areas where the TVUmax error tolerance is exceeded; red, orange and yellow colors represent areas where mainscheme data is deeper than crossline data; the blue shades represent where crossline data is deeper than mainscheme data. The analysis was performed on H13631 MBES data reduced to MLLW using ERS methods. H13631 Crosslines file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_Xlines.GIF The statistics and distribution summary plot of the difference between H13631 mainscheme and crossline data. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/XLines-MainScheme_depth_delta.png Histogram plot utilizing the magnitude of the Allowable Error Fraction to show the indication of what percentage of the total number of comparisons pass the TVU max test for H13631. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/XLines-MainScheme_fracAllowErr_Freq.png Depth differences between H13631 mainscheme and crossline data as compared to NOAA allowable uncertainty standards for the associated depths. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_FracErrorGIF.GIF ERS via VDATUM 0.0 0.095 S3006 4.0 NA NA 0.5 Total Propagated Uncertainty (TPU) values for H13631 were derived from a combination of fixed values for equipment and vessel characteristics, as well as field assigned values for sound speed uncertainties. The uncertainty for the VDatum model was provided to the field unit. A visual inspection of the Uncertainty layer revealed the areas of higher uncertainty occurred in the outer beams of survey lines. In addition to the usual a priori estimates of uncertainty provided via device models for vessel motion, ERS, real time and post processed uncertainty sources were also incorporated into the depth estimates of H13631. Real-time uncertainties from the Kongsberg 2040C MBES sonars were incorporated and applied during post processing. Uncertainties associated with vessel roll, gyro, and navigation were applied real-time. H13631 utilized kinematic (RTK) positioning service. The recorded delayed heave Applanix files included an estimate of the heave uncertainty and were applied during post processing. All of the aforementioned uncertainties were applied in CARIS. H13631 is an ellipsoidally referenced survey (ERS) and the tidal component was accomplished via separation model. The surfaces were analyzed using the HydrOffice QC Tools Grid QA feature to determine compliance with specifications. Overall, 99.5% of nodes within the 50cm surface and the 1m surface meet NOAA Allowable Uncertainty specifications for H13631. (Figures 13-14) Figure : H13631 50cm surface Node Uncertainty as a fraction of Allowable file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_MB_50cm_MLLW_Final_eroded.GQv6.tvu_qc.png Figure : H13631 1m surface Node Uncertainty as a fraction of Allowable file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_MB_1m_MLLW_Final_eroded.GQv6.tvu_qc.png H13631 junctions with adjacent survey H13545 from prior year project OPR-N360-NRTSE-22 (Figure 15). Data overlap between H13631 and H13545 was achieved. These areas of overlap between surveys were reviewed with CARIS HIPS and SIPS by surface differencing (at equal resolutions) to assess surface agreement. H13545 10000 2022 NRTSE NE The statistical analysis of the difference surface shows a mean of 0 with 95% of all nodes having a maximum deviation of +/-0.24 meters (Figure 16). It was found that 99.5% of nodes are within NOAA allowable uncertainty (Figure 17). Area of overlap between H13545 and H13631at the NE corner of the sheet. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/Junction.GIF Difference surface statistics between H13545 and H13631. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13545_VR_MLLW_Final-MainScheme_depth_delta.png Difference surface statistics between H13545 and H13631 showing percentage of nodes meeting NOAA allowable uncertainty. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13545_VR_MLLW_Final-MainScheme_fracAllowErr_Freq.png Sonar system quality control checks were conducted as detailed in the quality control section of the DAPR. None Exist There were no conditions or deficiencies that affected equipment operational effectiveness. Fish Balls Schooling balls of fish were present throughout the survey (Figure 18). In areas where they were clearly identifiable, especially through correlation in the side scan images, the soundings on the fish were rejected to enable a more accurate representation of the true seafloor. Where they were indistinguishable or uncertain, all soundings were retained. Every effort was made to identify these fish balls however in most cases they were not identified by automated tools such as HydrOffice Flier Finder. As such, some may remain in the final surface. Furthermore the rejection of the sounding on the balls in many locations created gaps in data picked up and noted by HydrOffice Holiday Finder. Fish Balls visible in subset editor. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_FishBall.GIF Sound Speed Some sound speed issues were apparent, visible primarily as "smiles". These were manly visible on lines collected further from casts especially on holiday collection lines and cross lines. Surfaces were not significantly impacted, and the data still meet ANOA allowable uncertainty parameters from DHS Section 5.1.3, and as such, the data remain sufficient to supersede previous data. Every four hours Casts were conducted at a minimum of one every four hours in the deepest water nearest to the active survey area during launch acquisition. Casts were conducted more frequently in areas where the influx of freshwater had an effect on the speed of sound in the water column, when there was a change in surface sound speed greater than four meters per second, and over varying depths (Figure 19). SVP casts were applied to the MBES lines in CARIS using the “nearest in distance within time of 4 hours” method. All sound speed methods were used as detailed in the DAPR. Sound speed cast locations. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_SVP.GIF All equipment and survey methods were used as detailed in the DAPR. All data reduction procedures conform to those detailed in the DAPR. All sounding systems were calibrated as detailed in the DAPR. Raw backscatter data is logged as .all file during acquisition. Backscatter for this survey was processed in FMGT V7.10.2. Not all lines processed in FMGT. CARIS HIPS and SIPS 11.4.25 QPS Fledermaus 7.10.2 CARIS HIPS and SIPS 11.4.25 NOAA Profile Version 2023 CARIS HIPS and SIPS was used as primary bathymetric and sidescan processing software. QPS Fledermaus was used for MBES backscatter processing. H13631_MB_50cm_MLLW CARIS Raster Surface (CUBE) 0.5 -1.0915 20.0 NOAA_0.5m MBES Set Line Spacing H13631_MB_50cm_MLLW_Final CARIS Raster Surface (CUBE) 0.5 -1.0915 20.0 NOAA_0.5m MBES Set Line Spacing H13631_MB_50cm_MLLW_Final_eroded CARIS Raster Surface (CUBE) -1.0726 20.0 NOAA_0.5m MBES Set Line Spacing H13631_MB_1m_MLLW CARIS Raster Surface (CUBE) 1 18.0 32.2302 NOAA_1m Object Detection H13631_MB_1m_MLLW_Final CARIS Raster Surface (CUBE) 1 18.0 32.2303 NOAA_1m Object Detection H13631_MB_1m_MLLW_Final_eroded CARIS Raster Surface (CUBE) 1 18.0 32.2302 NOAA_1m Object Detection H13631_SSSAB_1m_400kHz_1of2 SSS Mosaic 1 N/A 100% SSS H13631_SSSAB_1m_400kHz_2of2 SSS Mosaic 1 N/A 200% SSS NOAA CUBE parameters defined in the HSSD were used for the creation of all CUBE surfaces for H13631. The surfaces have been reviewed where noisy data, or "fliers," are incorporated into the gridded solutions causing the surface to be shoaled or deeper than the true sea floor. Where these spurious soundings cause the gridded surface to be shoaler or deeper than the reliably measured seabed by greater than the maximum allowable Total Vertical Uncertainty at that depth, the noisy data have been rejected by the hydrographer and the surface recomputed. As H13631 multibeam data was collected concurrent to SSS the resulting set line spacing surface was subject to extremely noisy edges. The new PYDRO Tool, Erode Raster Edges was utilized in an attempt to clean the edges of multibeam surfaces. To utilize this tool, a 50cm and 1m single resolution surface were created and iteratively cleaned and run through both HydrOffice Flier Finder and the Erode Edges tool. The final surface 1m surface has zero fliers and the 50cm surface retains 18 fliers with default settings in HydrOffice Flier Finder. These were viewed and all deemed to be false fliers,mainly of the edges or features. Designated Soundings H13631 contains 9 designated soundings in accordance with HSSD Section 5.2.1.2.3. One designated sounding represents an uncharted pipeline forwarded to the Marine Chart Division per HSSD Section 1.7.63, Bureau of Safety and Environmen­tal Enforcement per HSSD Section 1.7.1, and included in the FFF (Figure 20). The remaining 17 designated soundings were selected to accurately represent the floor and are either on shoal points where the CUBE surface did not accurately depict the seafloor (one location) or directly correlate to submerged addressed features included in the FFF (Figure 21). Exposed pipeline file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_PossiblePipeline.JPG Example of H13631 designated soundings (orange) on features in the southern portion of the survey area. file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_DesignatedSoundings.GIF Additional information discussing the vertical or horizontal control for this survey can be found in the accompanying HVCR. Mean Lower Low Water ERS via VDATUM OPR-N360-NRTSE-23_VDatum_100m_NAD83-MLLW_geoid12b.csar Elliposidal Referenced Survey (ERS) methods were used as the final means of reducing H13631 to MLLW for submission. VDatum separation model was provided with the project instructions. Sounding elevations relative to the ellipsoid were post-processed with the daily logged POSPac data to create a best statistical estimate of trajectory (SBET) file, as detailed in the DAPR. All of H13631 meets HSSD vertical accuracy requirements. North American Datum 1983 Projected UTM 10 Smart Base RTX Precise Positioning-SmartBase and RTX processing methods were used in Applanix POSpac MMS 8.8 software to produce SBETs for post-processing horizontal correction. All of H13631 meets HSSD horizontal accuracy requirements. US5WA23M 20000 16 2023-03-17 2023-03-17 US4WA10M 20000 40 2024-01-12 2024-01-12 One DTON (Figures 22-23) was reported for H13631 per HSSD Section 1.6 DTON submitted with a least depth of -1.320m file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_DTON.GIF DTON submitted in Side Scan Sonar file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_DTON2.GIF Charted features exist for this survey and are included int the Final Feature File (FFF). Survey H13631 has 23 new features that are addressed in the FFF. Of these features, there are 3 new piles, 10 new Obstructions, 5 new wrecks, 1 new pipeline, and 4 new Seabed Area of which 1 are submitted as DTON (See Section D.1.2) No channels exist within the survey limits. No Aids to navigation (ATONs) exist for this survey. No Maritime Boundary Points were assigned for this survey. Four bottom samples were acquired in accordance with the Project Instructions for survey H13631. All bottom samples were entered in the H13631 Final Feature File. No overhead features exist for this survey. Charted pipelines exist within the survey area and are addressed in the FFF. Information regarding updating the position of a charted pipeline was shared with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Nautical Data Branch (NDB) per HSSD 2022 Section 1.7 (Figure 24). Surveyed pipeline file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/pipeline.JPG No platforms exist for this survey. No ferry routes or terminals exist for this survey. Small, roughly less than 40m in diameter, circular depression are present within the survey area, (Figure 25) Circular depression as visible in the finalized surface for H13631 file:///M:/OPRN360NRTSE23/Surveys/H13631/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13631_Circ.GIF Shellfish farming was noted throughout the survey area, most notably along the northwest shore. Active dredging was noted during survey operations in the far southern reaches of Eld Inlet, inshore of NALL. See Washington Stat Geo-spatial Portal for more information on Commercial Harvest Sites https://geo.wa.gov/datasets/b625d6bce5864180bcc7d4e59a03a000_0/explore?location=47.077618%2C-122.939480%2C11.63 No new surveys or further investigations are recommended for this area. No new ENC scales are recommended for this area. As Chief of Party, field operations for this hydrographic survey were conducted under my direct supervision, with frequent personal checks of progress and adequacy. I have reviewed the attached survey data and reports. All field sheets, this Descriptive Report, and all accompanying records and data are approved. All records are forwarded for final review and processing to the Processing Branch. The survey data meets or exceeds requirements as set forth in the NOS Hydrographic Surveys Specifications and Deliverables, Field Procedures Manual, Letter Instructions, and all HSD Technical Directives. These data are adequate to supersede charted data in their common areas. This survey is complete and no additional work is required with the exception of deficiencies noted in the Descriptive Report. Annemieke Raymond Sheet Manager 2024-06-27