An Analysis of Iceberg Profiling Strategies using Unmanned Ocean Systems

With the offshore development off the Newfoundland and Labrador coast, the environment becomes the key factor to the production. Each year hundreds of icebergs depart from the Greenland and drift towards the Newfoundland and Labrador. Icebergs in the vicinity of the offshore structure have a potential of causing production downtime, scouring the pipeline on the sea floor, and destroy the infrastructures. In the iceberg management, the underside morphology of the target iceberg significantly affects decision of towing operation, ice berg drift and stability analysis. In this paper we present an overview of iceberg profiling techniques using acoustic systems, such as Multi-beam Sonar, Scanning Sonar, and Side Scan Sonars. Furthermore, three different types unmanned marine systems (underwater glider, unmanned surface craft and remotely operated vehicle) are investigated as potential carriers of the acoustic profiling system. By comparing different profiling system and its carrier, a detail mission planning scheme is presented as a reference for iceberg profiling missions. With various demands and objectives the scheme will help the operators to select a suitable mission plan.