DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERWATER SURFACE MEASUREMENT – MULTIBEAM SONAR

Abstract

This study was written in the title theme as a result of the cooperation between the staff of the departments of the two scientific institutions mentioned above. Its first author is also a PhD student of the IGGIS. This year the Bay Zoltán Applied Research Public Benefit Nonprofit Ltd. has purchased a Norbit-iWBMSe multibeam ultrasonic system. The primary purpose of this paper is to describe a multibeam ultrasonic system (Norbit- iWBMSe) and to examine its useful application for mine surveying purposes, particularly for measurements used in underwater mining situations, such as the official determination of the amount of the extracted mineral resources, which also serves as the basis for determining the payable annual mining rent. In our study, first, we will briefly review the new surveying technologies which have appeared in Hungarian mine surveying recently and are likely to be used more and more in the future. Then we will deal with the history of under-water topographic mapping. Afterwards the multibeam sonar survey device and its ad- vantages will be discussed, and two waterbed surveying examples from our own practice will be shown. Finally, the legal background of mining volume computation will be briefly described. Furthermore, it is important to highlight the role of multibeam sonar in mining exploitation process.