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USGS Research Vessel G.K. Gilbert Helps Secure Super Bowl XXXIX
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research vessel G.K. Gilbert, based in St. Petersburg, FL, augmented security for Super Bowl XXXIX, the National Football League's championship football game played on February 6, 2005, in Jacksonville, FL. The Gilbert scanned miles of piers, docks, bulkheads, and bridge abutments along Jacksonville's waterfront with an underwater Mobile Inspection Package (MIP) developed by the University of South Florida's Center for Ocean Technology (USF-COT). USF-COT has been developing the system for two years with funding and oversight provided by the Office of Naval Research and the Coast Guard Research and Development Center. Chief Scientist John Kloske (USF) conducted the cruises with Captains Richard Young (USGS) and Dave Bennett (Eckerd College) at the request of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and with the support of the Florida State Department of Community Affairs and the assistance of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Operations were coordinated and supervised by the USF National Center for Maritime and Port Security.
The MIP consists of a 3D-imaging sonar and a high-resolution-imaging sonar, a topside camera, and a high-accuracy navigation system. The sonars were mounted on a pole extending 6 ft under the boat. Piers, docks, bridge abutments, and seawalls around downtown Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium were scanned at 3 knots from a distance of 50 ft to inspect them for suspicious objects that could be explosive devices. During the week before the game, the Gilbert scanned multiple times more than 2 mi of the St. Johns River shoreline. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office had designated these areas of special interest because of the security risk posed to Super Bowl activities, including the cruise-ship docks where guests and visiting dignitaries (including two past presidents) would be accommodated. The high-resolution images were analyzed immediately aboard the Gilbert and transmitted in real time to a Command and Control Center set up aboard the Florida Institute of Oceanography's research vessel Suncoaster (berthed a few miles away) for further analysis by explosives experts from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. These data were used as a baseline for subsequent scans made before the Super Bowl and will also provide a valuable database for future events. Numerous suspicious objects were detected and subsequently investigated by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with a high-resolution-imaging sonar and a video camera, which determined that most of the objects were construction debris and harbor jetsam. Remaining targets were investigated by sheriff's divers and found not to be explosive devices. This approach reduced the divers' time in the water, which is especially important in the tidally influenced St. Johns River, where dives are restricted to short periods of slack water four times a day. The sheriff's office was pleased with the MIP system and grateful for our assistance, saying it eliminated many hours of dangerous underwater time for divers in the treacherous St. Johns River, which is known for its strong currents, poor visibility, and cold water this time of year. With this successful deployment of the MIP system aboard the Gilbert to secure the Jacksonville waterfront during Super Bowl XXXIX, the results of post-9/11 port security research and development investments are beginning to be realized, and the safety of our ports and waterways will be significantly enhanced.
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in this issue:
Flood-Response Teams Document Effects of Hurricane Charley Geologist Invited to Map Tsunami Impacts in the Maldives Mapping Oyster Beds In Apalachicola Bay USGS Research Vessel Helps Secure Super Bowl
Stewart Receives Gulf Guardian Award  |
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U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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