The population on Earth is continuously growing, and the coastal cities around the globe are expanding as well. Maritime transport with the new LNG technology offers an environmentally sustainable way of transporting goods. Climate change threatens the coastal areas and creates more need for coastal protection.
These are some of the reasons likely to increase the need for dredging operations in coastal areas now and in the future. Dredging is “the removal of sediments and debris from the bottom of lakes, rivers, harbors, and other water bodies” (NOAA / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
Dredging operations are needed when creating new ground for cities, assuring safe navigation to ports, and building protection in areas that are vulnerable to rising sea levels.
There are many different types of situations as well as a large variability of industries involved in dredging operations. Therefore, dredging projects typically consist of a variety of different types of stakeholders. In order to achieve successful project results, it is essential to ensure all the project-related information is easily sharable and accessible to everyone involved.
Examples of important information in dredging projects
Having all essential information, which is up-to-date and accurate, is crucial in successful dredging projects.
- Real-time monitoring. Modern dredging vessels are typically equipped with real-time monitoring of ongoing work. The monitoring system shows the planned area to be dredged with requested depths and reports in real-time how the work is proceeding.
- Seabed visualisation. To ensure dredging is completed successfully, it is essential to know the accurate situation of the seabed before and after the dredging work. This data is typically gathered by surveying the seabed with sonar, and as a result, a point cloud data of the seabed is formed, from which the seabed can be visualised and measured digitally.
- Plans and drawings. In addition, if dredging operations are part of a construction project, it is important to have the best possible knowledge of the plans and drawings of the structures to be built in the area related to the dredging project. This allows all the stakeholders to have a unified and comprehensive view of the project.
Easy-to-use online platform for enriched 3D data to utilise in dredging project optimisation
GISGRO is an online platform for 3D data gathered with sonars or laser scanners. Data is easy to upload to GISGRO, and there are multiple smart tools for analysing and measuring the data.
You can easily share the data by inviting your stakeholders to the platform with an e-mail link. They only need a decent web connection and a browser to access the data. In this chapter, we introduce some of the tools available in GISGRO.
From the video below, you see how you can easily demonstrate the bathymetry of the seabed area and use various measurement tools in GISGRO.
Want to know more about GISGRO?
Book an online demo meeting with our expert to discuss more GISGRO benefits for your port.
Ville Mäkeläinen
CDBO
+358 44 513 2222
ville@gisgro.com