UXO survey at Formosa I Taiwan
End of 2018 Deep conducted a geophysical UXO survey together with International Ocean Vessel Technical Consultant Co Ltd (IOVTEC) at Formosa I future wind farm location, Taiwan. The 128MW Formosa I project represents Taiwan’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm and is located 2-6 kilometers off the coast of Miaoli.
The main objective of the survey was to provide an accurate bathymetric chart of the site extension and to locate magnetic (UXO) anomalies and sonar contacts that might impede construction works. To conduct the survey, Deep and IOVTEC operated the vessel equipped with Deep survey instruments and an Iron Lady, which is a remotely operated towed vehicle (ROTV) developed by Deep
The work was conducted in two phases. First, a multi beam echo sounder and side scan sonar survey was carried out to establish the seabed morphology and to detect objects on the seabed, also used to ensure a safe “flying” environment for the ROTV. Then the magnetometer survey was conducted with 6 magnetic sensors mounted on the Iron Lady
A wide array with fixed magnetometers gives a very high data quality (much higher than individual lines with a single magnetic sensor) and minimizes the survey time. Furthermore, the Iron Lady uses automatic height control, which is essential for good magnetometer data.
Due to the efficiency of the Iron Lady ROTV, Deep managed to complete the survey in the hurricane season, delivering excellent magnetometer data.