Not long after the sun came up, a team of Maryland geologists set out on the Patuxent River. As they approached the Upper Patuxent Sanctuary, the team prepared the sensing equipment and took preliminary measurements in the water. With a custom crank-and-pulley system, they lowered the interferometric side-scan sonar off the bow. Soon after, they deployed a magnetometer and a sub-bottom profiler to trail in the wake of the boat. Then they headed forward, following a long, straight line. It was the first line of the day, but one of hundreds the team has conducted over the last two years, part of the diligent work of mapping much of the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Though the Maryland Geological Survey has collected data on the sediment and underlying structure below the water of the Bay for decades, its current work focuses on areas that serve as possible oyster habitat. “We need this data to determine where the suitable bottom is,” Stephen Van Ryswick, the Director of the Maryland Geological Survey, said from the survey boat. “We look at where the new data gives us the most value, where new data can help us make decisions.” It takes […]
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