Photo By Sgt. Jonathan Sosner | Marines analyze data of the sea floor during a joint training exercise near U.S. Coast...... read more read more
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Two engines roared to life as water and a cool ocean breeze sprayed the Marines aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel. Packed in tight on the vessel, a handful of Marines and Coast Guardsmen conducted surveying operations off the North Carolina coast.
Marines from 2nd Intelligence Battalion, alongside U.S. Coast Guardsmen, completed hydro-survey operations off of U.S. Coast Guard Station, Fort Macon, N.C., Oct. 13, 2016.
“We are collecting data to get accurate information in littoral environments around the Coast Guard Station,” said Sgt. Robert Govitz, a geospatial intelligence analyst with the unit. “Essentially, we are mapping out the ocean floor.”
Marines used the StarFish side-scan Sound Navigation and Ranging and an Echo Sounder to create the maps. Both of the devices are attached to a pole and trailed behind the Coast Guard vessel. The StarFish sends back a picture of the ocean floor, while the Echo Sounder sends signals off the ocean floor and tells the crew how deep the water is in that particular location.
After going over the territory that has been mapped out, the Marines take the data gathered and put it into a centralized database of oceanographic maps.
“We have to process the data first and take out any errors we find,” Govitz said. “Once we do all that, we put all the data together to make maps and charts for the Coast Guard to use.”
U.S. Coast Guard station Fort Macon is located on the coast of Emerald Isle where Atlantic beach meets the Atlantic Ocean. Although the operation was planned months beforehand, the Marines also used the opportunity to look for any shifts in the sea floor caused by Hurricane Matthew.
“We have been working with the Coast Guard for upwards of about a year and a half now,” Govitz said. “We had a great time and got a lot accomplished.”
The maps are critical for navigation because without them, neither commercial nor private boats would be able to pass safely through the waterways. These joint operations are crucial for maintaining an efficient working relationship with other branches, solidifying the notion that Marines are ready for anything.
| Date Taken: | 10.18.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2016 13:56 |
| Story ID: | 212296 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 267 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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