BATHYMETRIC SURVEY OF RIVER ETHIOPE, OGHARA WATER FRONT

ABSTRACT
For proper and safe navigation along water ways the depth of the water bed must be sufficient enough to allow vessels or other navigation medium pass through them. This study aim at executing a Bathymetric Survey of Ethiope River, Oghara Water Front, Delta State, Nigeria. Bathymetry survey is the survey carried out to determine the topography of the sea bed and the nature of the underwater level. The end product of a bathymetric survey is a chart showing depth information of the river bed which is not only useful for mariners or fisherm en but a bathymetry chart can aid dredgers before and after a dredging operation for accurate job execution and payment. Bathymetric survey provides the basic and fundamental information for all scientific, economic, educational, managerial, and engineerin g projects on waterways. Applications as diverse as tsunami hazard assessment, communications cable and pipeline route planning, resource exploration, habitat
management, and territorial claims under the Law of the Sea all require reliable bathymetric maps to be available on demand. This survey campaign made use of the South Single beam Echo sounder and Tritech Star Fish Side Scan Sonar to effectively capture both bathymetric and other seabed information while using Hypack Navigation software for both data acquisition and processing.
Further processing was done using ArcGIS 10.8 Software, Surfer 10 software and Microsoft Excel. Analysis of results was carried out. Bathymetric chart, seabed contour map, 3D surface and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the da ta set was produced. The result further revealed that the implementation of a dredge position system will enhance accurate and proper planning during dredging activities to avoid under dredging.