Kongsberg Maritime – EM 2040p Multibeam Echo Sounder

KONGSBERG is a leading manufacturer of multibeam echo sounder systems for seabed mapping. It offers a wide range of systems for all water depths and seabed mapping applications that comply with the performance standards defined by the International Hydrographic Organization's performance standards, S-44 edition 5.

The KONGSBERG EM series of multibeam echo sounders is characterised by high mapping productivity in combination with exceptionally high sounding accuracy and a dense pattern of soundings to cover the seafloor in order to reveal all details on the bottom. In addition to the soundings, KONGSBERG multibeam echo sounders produce seabed image data similar to a side-scan sonar image, which is useful for characterizing the seabed material properties and detecting small features not visible in the sounding data.

The EM 2040 multibeam echo sounder is a true wide band high-resolution multibeam echo sounder (200 to 400 kHz) with the highest resolution in the market. The EM 2040C (Compact) is a shallow water multibeam echo sounder based on the EM 2040 technology. It's more compact than the EM 2040, but is still an ideal tool for any highresolution mapping and inspection applications.

The EM 2040P (Portable) is the latest development of the EM 2040 technology platform. It's a highly portable shallow water multibeam echo sounder designed for easy transport and quick deployment on any vessel, while offering survey performance up to and exceeding the IHO-S44 special order and the more stringent LINZ specification.

Designed for any high-resolution mapping and inspection application, the portability of the new EM 2040P enables straightforward delivery and installation on small vessels of opportunity. A key aspect is that it features three sector transmitters (TX), which allows for active stabilisation for the vessels roll, pitch, and yaw. The transmit fan is divided into three sectors pinging simultaneously at separate frequencies, which ensures effective dampening of “multi-bounce interference.” This enables surveys in rough seas and poor weather and still maintains full seabed ensonification.

Both the TX and the RX transducers are combined into one sonar head for ease of installation and integration. The operating frequency range for the EM 2040P is 200 to 400 kHz and the operator can select the best frequency at any time: 300 kHz for near bottom, 200 kHz for deeper waters, and 400 kHz for very high-resolution inspection.

New features include Extra Detection, which enables the user to identify, classify, and map objects above the seafloor and in the water column (i.e., the shallowest point on a shipwreck). The EM2040P shares several new features with the EM 2040, including a pipe-tracker mode, which increases the number of beams and focuses on the pipe to deliver a higher resolution image, in addition to plug-and-play compatibility with the iLinks InteLAS™ mobile LiDAR system.

The EM 2040P surveys up to and exceeding the IHO-S44 special order and LINZ specification.

The EM 2040P utilises the new KONGSBERG EM Portable PU (Processing Unit), a ruggedised splash-proof processing unit created to work with all KONGSBERG shallow water EM-series multibeams. Designed for operation in harsh conditions, the EM Portable PU enables the full feature set of KONGSBERG multibeam technology.

The basic EM 2040P has three units: A sonar head with both the receiver and transmitter integrated, the EM Portable PU, and a workstation. Data input from a motion sensor and a positioning system, such as the new KONGSBERG Seapath 130 which offers the same portability as the EM 2040P, is required. The sonar head may be delivered mounted on a frame together with the motion sensor and a sound speed sensor, factory aligned for ease of mounting.

As the latest addition to the portfolio, the EM 2040P demonstrates KONGSBERG Maritime's commitment to delivering new state-of-the-art technology that supports not only the quality of data, but the productivity and flexibility of the people and vessel's tasked with conducting seabed mapping surveys.