After learning about the prospect of using a jet ski with a singlebeam echosounder to conduct bathymetric surveys in a fraction of the time, the Gold Coast council in Australia purchased its first CEE JET hydrographic survey system from CEE HydroSystems.
Australia's Gold Coast stretches along 57 kilometres 35 miles of coastline and the region is home to over half a million people. In order to maintain the economic engine behind the growth of the Gold Coast region, management activities include dredging, sand bypassing, sand nourishment and the construction of protection structures. The council's extensive monitoring of beaches and of coastal patterns and the data gathered over many years provide valuable information about coastal processes and their impact on the coastline; the oldest Gold Coast measurement transect has been continuously surveyed for the past 60 years.
Laborious and Time-consuming Survey One survey method used by the Gold Coast council hydrographic section has changed little over this time. Levelling measurements are used to obtain surf zone bathymetry data to map the movement of sand, particularly before and after large tropical storms that have a potentially enormous impact on sand distribution.
First, a 20m spaced grid is pegged out on the beach to guide the survey crew along the transects. Then, a swimmer with a level rod is dropped into the water from a jet ski. The swimmer uses the rod to identify the bottom along the transect and a surveyor on the shore with a total station measures the elevation of the rod.
When one discrete measurement is recorded, the rod is moved to the next point along the transect. The method is time-consuming, laborious, and includes substantial disruption to the beach activities.
