MultiBeam EchoSounder Training at OSCM

23 May 2022 / Mindelo / Kiel
Ocean Science Centre Mindelo together with the Coast Guard of Cabo Verde offered training on MultiBeam EchoSounder (MBES) for bathymetric habitat mapping in Cabo Verde

The Ocean Science Centre Mindelo (OSCM) together with the Coast Guard of the Republic of Cabo Verde hosted a four-day comprehensive MultiBeam EchoSounder (MBES) training with the focus on installation, operation, data analysis and data processing. The training involved introductory courses and practical sessions on board the Coast Guard’s patrol vessel Guardião. Twenty-one participants joined the training held by MBES expert Prof. Dr. Jens Greinert from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany.

In a nutshell, the MultiBeam EchoSounder (MBES) method is used to create detailed maps of the sea floor. For this purpose, a multibeam sonar installed on a survey vessel emits sound pulses and detects their echo on the sea floor. During such bathymetric surveys, precise data are gathered which, after expert analysis, provide detailed information on the seabed structure. Interest in underwater mapping methods is high in Cabo Verde, which is not surprising considering how large Cabo Verde's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is, and how little is known about it so far. The training organized and hosted by the Ocean Science Centre Mindelo (OSCM) was chaired by Prof. Dr. Jens Greinert from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany, an expert with many years’ experience in the field of MBES. The overall goal of this training was to provide expert knowledge regarding the installation and set-up of a 50 kHz MBES system for measurements until 2500 m depth, its operation, software usage, data visualization and analysis and foster capacities in this area as well as to strengthen and expand cooperation. A two-day virtual preparatory class (23/24 May) followed by a two-day hands-on training (28/29 May) on board the Cabo Verdean Coast Guard’s patrol vessel Guardião rounded off the comprehensive MBES training. The great interest on multibeam operations led to the participation of in total twenty-one attendees from many different institutions such as the Instituto do Mar (IMar), the Coast Guard of the Republic of Cabo Verde themselves, the Universidade Técnica do Atlântico (UTA), the Instituto Nacional de Gestāo do Território (INGT), the Instituto Marítimo Portuário (IMP) and ENAPOR (Ports of Cabo Verde). This training will be supplemented by an intense coastal habitat mapping operation nearby the Cabo Verdean island Santo Antão within the project Conservation of marine ecosystems around Santo Antão, Cabo Verde: implications for policy and society, COAST Cabo Verde.

Following this MBES course, a further training on hydro-acoustics as part of the Coastal Ecosystem Monitoring in Cabo Verde (CEM_CV) project is organised and scheduled for August 2022. The upcoming workshop aims to train talents in the field of hydro-acoustic biomass determinations in order to investigate fish stocks in Cabo Verdean waters with the local research vessel “Islandia” of IMAR.

The training events organised by the OSCM, the high interest and active involvement of different stakeholders as well as the planned underwater habitat mapping mission by COAST Cabo Verde join together very nicely and open up a unique opportunity to use the synergies and to turn them into beneficial collaborations. Financing for the mounting system was provided by the COAST Cabo Verde project. The MBES system of GEOMAR will be made available for own use by the Republic of Cabo Verde for at least two years and possibly beyond.  During this time, Jens Greinert remains available as expert contact and will try to answer any scientific or technical questions that may arise.

Caption from left to right and top to bottom
The Coast Guard’s patrol vessel Guardião in the port of Mindelo, São Vicente, Cabo Verde. In the background moors the German research vessel Meteor.
Participants during the practical part of the MultiBeam EchoSounder (MBES) course onbaord the Coast Guard’s patrol vessel Guardião.
Prof. Dr. Jens Greinert during the practical part of the MultiBeam EchoSounder (MBES) course onbaord the Coast Guard’s patrol vessel Guardião.
Group picture with all participants of the MBES course on board the Coast Guard’s patrol vessel Guardião.

Picture credit: Edson Silva Delgado

If you want to learn more about the mentioned trainings and projects follow the links below:

MultiBeam EchoSounder (MBES) training: download the program as pdf here.

Coastal Ecosystem Monitoring in Cabo Verde (CEM-CV) watch the following video on YouTube:
English version: The Coastal Ecosystem Monitoring in Cabo Verde project, CEM_CV
Portuguese version: Projeto Monitoramento dos Ecossistemas Costeiros em Cabo Verde, CEM_CV

Conservation of marine ecosystems around Santo Antão, Cabo Verde: implications for policy and society, COAST Cabo Verde project: https://www.facebook.com/coastcv or via Twitter @coastcv