S-E927-BH2-22 Hooper Range Chesapeake Bay NOAA NRT-BHII H13686 1 Hooper Range Maryland United States 40000 2022 LTJG Carly Robbins Navigable Area 2022-09-09 2022-10-24 2023-03-27 Multibeam Echo Sounder 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 18N, 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 Contractors) CC0-1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode These data were produced under contract with NOAA and any potential copyright was assigned to NOAA. 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 Data were acquired to the survey limits in accordance with the requirements in the Project Instructions (PIs) and the March 2022 NOS Hydrographic Surveys Specifications and Deliverables (HSSD). 38.235513 76.35387999999999 38.177569 76.268634 Data were acquired to the survey limits in accordance with the requirements in the Project Instructions and the March 2022 NOS Hydrographic Surveys Specifications and Deliverables (HSSD) as shown in Figure 1. H13686 sheet limits (blue) overlaid onto Chart US5VA22M SupportFiles\H13686_SheetLimits.PNG The Pilots have requested an investigation of a charted pile at 38°13.3' - 076°17.9'. The pile is charted as visible but the pilot claim it is not visible and they are concerned that it has broken off at the water column and is now a danger to navigation. Bay Hydro II is assigned to survey the area and the obstructions in the survey limits. 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 in H13686 meets multibeam echo sounder (MBES) coverage requirements for complete coverage, as required by the HSSD. This includes crosslines (see Section B.2.1), NOAA allowable uncertainty (see Section B.2.10), and density requirements (see Section B.2.11). All waters in survey area Object Detection Coverage (Refer to HSSD Section 5.2.2.2) Survey coverage was in accordance with the requirements listed above and in the HSSD. S5401 0.0 270.65 0.0 0.0 270.65 0.0 0.0 14.51 0.0 0.0 270.65 0.0 0.0 270.65 270.65 0.0 14.51 0.0 5.36 0 0 0 0 7.45 2022-10-24 2022-10-25 2022-11-07 2022-11-09 2022-11-15 2022-11-18 2022-11-29 2022-12-02 2022-12-05 2022-12-07 2023-03-24 2023-03-27 H13686 survey operations began on 24 October 2022 and were resumed and completed in 2023 due to conflicting schedules with the US Navy, who was also operating in H13686 survey grounds. Refer to the S-927-BH2-22 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. S5401 17.3 1.8 R/V Bay Hydro II, S5401 SupportFiles\BHII underway - Acceptance.jpg Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth Sensor SonTek CastAway-CTD Sound Speed System Valeport MiniSVS Positioning and Attitude System Applanix POS MV 320 v5 MBES Kongsberg Maritime EM 2040CD Multibeam crosslines acquired for this survey totaled 5.36% of mainscheme acquisition. Crosslines were collected, processed, and compared in accordance with Section 5.2.4.2 of the HSSD. To evaluate crosslines, a 0.5 meter CUBE surface using strictly mainscheme lines, and a 0.5 meter surface using strictly crosslines were created. From these two surfaces, a difference surface (mainscheme - crosslines = difference surface) was generated using Pydro’s Compare Grids tool at a 0.5 meter resolution (Figure 3). Statistics show the mean difference between the depths derived from mainscheme and crosslines was -0.00 meters with crosslines being deeper and 95% of nodes falling within +/- 0.16 meters (Figure 4). For the respective depths, the difference surface was compared to the allowable NOAA uncertainty standards using Pydro's Compare Grids tool. In total, 99.5% of the depth differences between H13686 mainscheme and crossline data were within allowable NOAA uncertainties (Figure 5). Depth differences between H13686 mainscheme (gray) and H13686 crossline data SupportFiles\H13686_XL_Diff_Surface.PNG H13686 maintenance to crossline difference statistics SupportFiles\H13686_MB_50cm_MLLW-H13686_MB_XL_50cm_MLLW_depth_delta.png H13686 mainscheme and H13686 crossline NOAA allowable uncertainty statistics SupportFiles\H13686_MB_50cm_MLLW-H13686_MB_XL_50cm_MLLW_fracAllowErr_Freq.png ERS via VDATUM 0.0 0.09 S5401 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 In addition to the usual a priori estimates of uncertainty provided via device models for vessel motion and VDATUM, real-time and post processed uncertainty sources were also incorporated into the depth estimates of survey H13686. Real-time uncertainties were provided via EM 2040C DH MBES data and Applanix Delayed Heave RMS. Following post -processing of the real-time vessel motion, recomputed uncertainties of vessel roll, pitch, gyro, and navigation were applied in CARIS HIPS and SIPS via a Smoothed Best Estimate of Trajectory (SBET) RMS file generated in Applanix POSPac. No junctioning surveys have been provided for this project. 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. None Exist There were no other factors that affected corrections to soundings. Casts were conducted at a minimum of once every 4 hours during 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 and when there was a change in surface sound speed greater than two meters per second. All sound speed methods were used as detailed in the DAPR. All equipment and survey methods were used as detailed in the DAPR. Holidays H13686 data were reviewed in CARIS HIPS and SIPS for holidays in accordance with Section 5.2.2.2 of the HSSD. 405 holidays that meet the object detection definition were identified via Pydro QC Tools Holiday Finder tool. This tool automatically scans finalized surfaces for holidays as defined in the HSSD and was run in conjunction with a visual inspection of all surfaces by the hydrographer. 69 of the 405 total holidays were outside the H13686 sheet limits. Throughout the survey grounds, but especially in the western, shoaler areas, schools of fish and/or other marine life were ubiquitous and prohibited the MBES from identifying the true seafloor (See Figure 6 for an overview of the holidays). Potentially, the abnormally high presence of marine life was due to a seasonal effect. This interference resulted in artifacts in the processed data which did not accurately represent the seafloor (See Figure 7). In many cases, removal of these artifacts in the MBES surface introduced gaps in coverage. The majority of the total holidays are due to interference from marine life. Each of these gaps in coverage was examined in CARIS HIPS and SIPS Subset Editor and determined to neither contain dangers to navigation nor to degrade the confidence in the quality of the survey. Areas of overlapping bathymetry showed the fish balls to be transient. These data gaps do not limit the ability to adequately verify charted depths. Overview of H13686 holidays SupportFiles\H13686_Holidays_Overview.JPG CARIS HIPS and SIPS Subset Editor image of marine life prohibiting the MBES from identifying the true seafloor SupportFiles\H13686_Fish.PNG NOAA Allowable Uncertainty The surface was analyzed using the HydrOffice QC Tools Grid QA feature to determine compliance with specifications. Overall, 99.5% of nodes within the surface meet NOAA Allowable Uncertainty specifications for H13686 (Figure 8). H13686 uncertainty statistics SupportFiles\H13686_MB_50cm_MLLW_Final.GQv6.tvu_qc.png Density The finalized surface was analyzed using the Pydro QC Tools Grid QA feature to determine compliance with specifications. Density requirements for H13686 were achieved with at least 99.5+% of surface nodes containing five or more soundings as required by HSSD Section 5.2.2.3 (Figure 9). H13686 density statistics SupportFiles\H13686_MB_50cm_MLLW_Final.GQv6.density.png Roll Artifact Roll artifacts were detected in DN 319's data due to the sea state (See Figure 10). Affected data were determined to be within NOAA specifications, so no further action was taken. Roll artifacts in outer beams SupportFiles\H13686_Roll.PNG All data reduction procedures conform to those detailed in the DAPR. All sounding systems were calibrated as detailed in the DAPR. Kongsberg EM2040C stores the raw backscatter data in the .all file. All equipment and survey methods were used as detailed in the DAPR. Raw MBES backscatter was logged as part of the .all file of the Kongsberg EM2040 systems. Backscatter was processed in QPS Fledermaus GeoCoder Toolbox (FMGT) software, and the exported geotiff is included in the final processed data package. See Figure 11 for a greyscale representation of the complete mosaic. H13686 backscatter mosaic overlaid onto Chart US5VA22M SupportFiles\H13686_Backscatter.PNG CARIS HIPS and SIPS 11.4.19 QPS Fledermaus 7.10.2 NOAA Profile Version 2023 H13686_MB_50cm_MLLW.csar CARIS Raster Surface (CUBE) 0.5 9.5 16.7 NOAA_0.5m Object Detection H13686_MB_50cm_MLLW_Final.csar CARIS Raster Surface (CUBE) 0.5 9.8 16.7 NOAA_0.5m Object Detection H13686_MBAB_2m_S5401_300kHz_1of1.tif MB Backscatter Mosaic 2 0.0 N/A 100% SSS The NOAA CUBE parameters defined in the HSSD were used for the creation of all CUBE surfaces for H13686. The surfaces have been reviewed where noisy data, or "fliers" are incorporated into the gridded solutions causing the surface to be shoaler or deeper than the true sea floor. Where these spurious soundings cause the gridded surface to vary from 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. Flier Finder, part of the QC Tools package within HydrOffice, was used to assist the search for spurious soundings following gross cleaning. Flier Finder was run iteratively until all remaining flagged fliers were deemed to be valid aspects of the surface. Designated Soundings H13686 contains 11 designated soundings in accordance with HSSD Section 5.2.1.2.3. These soundings were designated to facilitate feature management. Per Section 5.2.2.1.3 of the 2021 Field Procedures Manual, no Horizontal and Vertical Control Report has been generated for H13686. Mean Lower Low Water ERS via VDATUM S-E927-BH2-22_VDatum_100m_NAD83-MLLW_geoid12b.csar Following the successful application of SBETs, ERS methods using VDATUM were used for reducing data to MLLW. ERS methods were used as the final means of reducing H13686 to MLLW for submission. North American Datum 1983 Projected UTM 18 RTX Vessel kinematic data were post-processed using Applanix POSPac processing software and RTX Positioning methods using Charlene as described in the DAPR. Smoothed Best Estimate of Trajectory (SBET) and associated error (RMS) data were applied to all MBES data in CARIS HIPS and SIPS. Smart Base SBETs were initially produced and applied. However, there were insufficient CORS stations available on DN 313, likely leading to poorly corrected GNSS altitude and vertical offsets in the bathymetry. However, the offsets were resolved when RTX SBETs were applied to all data. The Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) was used for real-time horizontal control during data acquisition. There is general agreement between H13686 and charted depths except for charted features. Many of these features were not present in the bathymetry and are recommended for chart removal. The Final Feature File addresses these features. US5VA22M 40000 32 2024-02-08 2024-04-18 No shoals or potentially hazardous features exist for this survey. All assigned features were addressed and are included in the H13686 Final Feature File. The charted pile at 38°13.3' - 076°17.9' that the Pilots reported as a possible hazard to navigation is disproved by multibeam and is recommended for removal from the chart. New positions of least depths for two wrecks (Feature ID US 0000000004 00001 and US 0000000008 00001) and for two obstructions were observed (US 0000000003 00001 and US 0000000007 00001). One uncharted obstruction (Feature ID US 0000289325 00001) was observed and addressed in the Final Feature File. No channels exist within the survey limits. USN Gunnery Testing "C" and "D" were on station and serving as intended. Neither ATON were assigned, but both were investigated and addressed in the Final Feature File. No Maritime Boundary Points were assigned for this survey. No bottom samples were required for this survey. No overhead features exist for this survey. No submarine features exist for this survey. No platforms exist for this survey. No ferry routes or terminals exist for this survey. No abnormal seafloor or environmental conditions exist for this survey. No present or planned construction or dredging exist within the survey limits. 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. LTJG Carly Robbins Chief of Party 2024-04-16