STUDENTS INVESTIGATING THE DEEP USING MULTIBEAM SONAR: THE BEAMS PROGRAM

The BEnthic Acoustic Mapping and Survey, or BEAMS Program was established in 2006 at the College of Charleston, and was expanded to the University of Washington in 2011. BEAMS is an undergraduate student-focused training and research program in which students learn state-of-the-art multibeam sonar data processing software, CARIS HIPS & SIPS, in the foundation course Introduction to Seafloor Mapping. With this software, students generate bathymetric maps and acoustic backscatter imagery for seabed classification. Those who elect to reach full BEAM TEAM status, continue on to the research course, which offers a multi-day at-sea sonar data acquisition cruise. This second course also requires a full research project using data either from NOAA NGDC or collected during the BEAMS cruise. Students present their results at regional and national meetings annually. Development of supplemental field-based courses for sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiling, workshops for training in additional software, and plans for summer institutes are all underway. Student exchanges and other collaborations between institutions are also being developed.

The program is not grant-supported, but is maintained through each home institution’s funds, along with partnerships from industry. To date, over 100 students at the two institutions have participated in BEAMS. More than half of the students who have graduated have successfully pursued graduate school or sought employment in the marine geospatial field. 40% of this workforce is female. The combination of learning new technologies and software, conducting and presenting research, and gaining hands-on field experience has proven to be a strong attractor for students; and job and volunteer opportunities have grown as the need for higher resolution seafloor images and maps has increased globally.