New Craft To Help Survey The Ocean Floor

Anyone that tires of mapping land might consider signing on with C & C Technologies, Inc. and help them map the ocean floor. The firm announced yesterday that they have started work on their third Surveyor Class Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). The C-Surveyor III will feature C & C's proprietary hardware and software as well as a multibeam echosounder, chirp side scan sonar, chirp sub-bottom profiler, CTD system and a methane detector.

The firm plans to have the underwater craft performing hydrographic surveys in the Gulf of Mexico by May. Its predecessors, the C-Surveyor I & II AUVs will rotate locations between Brazil, West Africa and the Middle East. C & C says the AUV is being customized to permit ultra-deep water surveys in water depths up to 4500 meters. Thomas Chance, President of C & C Technologies, said, "With this new addition to our fleet, we will be able to service all regions of the world simultaneously, while decreasing mobilization costs on international projects."

The big advantage I see with mapping the ocean floor over mapping land is that you don't have to deal with angry neighbors.