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Rainier and her launches acquire hydrographic sounding data. Rainier has six aluminum survey launches equipped with different sonar systems including sidescan, vertical beam, and multibeam echosounders. The Hydrographic Surveys Division offers detailed information about different types of hydrographic surveying and data acquisition systems.
Rainier is equipped with a hull-mounted SeaBeam/Elac 1050D MKII multibeam echo sounder system for acquisition of shallow- and intermediate-water depths. This system is used in offshore areas with depths ranging from 40-2700 meters.
Two of the launches are equipped with Knudsen 320M vertical-beam echo sounder systems for acquisition in shallow water. This system is used to define near shore areas in depths ranging from 4-50 meters. The jet-drive propulsion of these two survey launches allows them to get close in to shore without worrying about prop damage.
Four launches are equipped with hull-mounted Reson SeaBat 7125 dual-frequency multibeam echosounder systems for acquisition of shallow-water depth information. This system is used to obtain full-bottom coverage in depths ranging from 4-150 meters. One launch is also equipped with a Reson 8125 multibeam system mounted at a 30 degree angle to starboard. This innovative setup is ideal for surveying the steep slopes near-shore in Alaska. The tilted sonar returns cleaner data and speeds up acquisition in areas of sharp changes in depth.
Two Klein sides scan systems are also used for obtaining side scan sonar data. These are an excellent way to obtain more graphic representations of the sea floor. They are most often used to identify features which will require further investigation with the multibeam systems. These systems can either be hull-mounted, or towed behind the survey launches.
