ASSESSING NAUTICAL DEPTH EFFICIENTLY IN TERMS OF RHEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

A vital element of harbour services is the guarantee of save passage to and from the port facilities. When high siltation rates persist, adopting the concept of nautical bottom may reduce the significant maintenance costs involved with this service. In-situ density probes and acoustic methods are widely used for assessment of the nautical depth. New developments in tuning-fork systems are presented, that allow the direct measurement of deformation characteristics of muds, being the direct relevant parameter for navigation. This new technique is integrated in a existing survey scheme, allowing more accurate mapping of the nautical depth efficiently. 1