By Richard Goosen • Dr. Cheryl Hapke

Florida’s extensive coastline, where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Atlantic, is a major economic driver. It contributes billions of dollars in revenue to the state each year through tourism, fishing, and maritime transportation. It also sustains three-quarters of the state’s population. This critical economic and population center faces increasing risks from intensifying storms and accelerated coastal erosion. Recognizing the profound impact of these changes to both lives and livelihoods, the state has implemented the Florida Seafloor Mapping Initiative (FSMI), a comprehensive program designed to enhance understanding of this complex coastal system.

Meeting Multiple User Needs

Administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the FSMI is a $100 million investment dedicated to providing high-resolution bathymetry data for Florida’s state coastal waters. It’s a project that directly supports a wide range of critical coastal adaptation and mitigation activities.

For storm preparedness, high-resolution bathymetry enhances the ability to predict floodwater heights and aids in identifying erosion-prone areas. In terms of infrastructure planning, these data help identify stable locations for new development while ensuring the avoidance of sensitive habitats. The mapping also bolsters environmental stewardship by pinpointing critical habitats for conservation, including coral reefs, oyster beds, seagrass meadows and mangroves, while also informing fisheries management for healthy marine ecosystems. For coastal tourism, the detailed bathymetry data allow for the identification of optimal recreational and navigation sites, ensuring these locations are both accessible and environmentally sustainable, thus safeguarding delicate coastal ecosystems. Furthermore, seafloor mapping data are essential to locating and assessing offshore sand resources for beach nourishment and the prediction of sediment transport.

Early Coordination Efforts

Serving multiple stakeholders and applications, the FSMI was informed by the efforts of the Florida Coastal Mapping Program (FCMaP), a coordinating body of federal and state agencies that are working to coordinate and facilitate the mapping of Florida’s coastal waters. Prior to FCMaP’s formation in 2017, seafloor mapping in Florida was conducted on an ad-hoc basis, primarily to support specific projects rather than broader, multi-stakeholder uses. To address this limitation, FCMaP advocated for a more comprehensive mapping approach, recommending seafloor mapping from the shoreline to the 200-m isobath, near the continental shelf break. To achieve this, they also recommended data collection standards: 1- to 3-m bathymetric models in shallow water (0 to 20 m) and a 10-m resolution in waters from 20- to 200-m water depth.

In 2019, FCMaP developed priorities through rigorous stakeholder engagement and an online digital interface where stakeholders allocated virtual currency to indicate their highest-priority mapping areas. (These priorities were further refined through formal consultation with federal, state, and academic agencies with a vested interest in coastal resilience and the marine economy for their highest mapping priorities.) Survey areas were generated from a heat map of these priorities minus any existing high-resolution data.

The FSMI Takes Shape

The FSMI encompasses a strategic, comprehensive “map once, use many times” approach. This ensures statewide data consistency and maximizes the value of collected information. The integrated survey design and standardized data acquisition protocols deliver a seamless, high-fidelity bathymetric data set that can be used at the local, regional, or statewide level for consistency in analysis and resource management. FDEP prioritized data collection using the foundation laid by FCMaP, augmented with further prioritization efforts statewide.

With funding secured for the program in 2022, DEP went about identifying available technologies and contractors capable of performing the work. To maximize efficiency and to address stakeholder priorities, the program was separated into two phases: an airborne lidar bathymetry (ALB) phase starting in 2023 to collect as much data as possible from the coastline to the 20-m (66-ft.) contour; and vessel-based sonar phase starting in 2024 to collect the remaining priority data, including areas where lidar proved ineffective due to turbidity, from 5 m (16 ft.) to the edge of the continental shelf at 200 m (660 ft.). Data collection will continue through 2025, with final mapping data scheduled for 2026. Working in concert with Florida’s Geographic Information Office, data will be made available to the public through a web portal, with data sharing to federal users, including the U.S. Geological Survey and NOAA.

 

 

Fugro’s Role

Fugro has participated in both project phases and is contracted to perform 65 percent of the state’s required vessel-based surveying. Stretching approximately 1,350 mi., the coastal regions of Florida pose multiple mapping challenges. For instance, to map the continental shelf around the state from the coastline to a depth of 200 m (660 ft.) is a huge undertaking, especially on the west Florida shelf, considering the distances involved and the complexity of the environment. Here, the area of interest stretches from close inshore to over 100 nautical mi. offshore, all the way from the southern Gulf Coast down to the Florida Keys. On the East Coast, the shelf break can be as close as 3 nautical mi. from shore, but this proximity often means surveying directly into a 3- to 4-kt. current in the Gulf Stream. This can slow the vessel to a crawl when transiting to the Keys from the Cape Canaveral area, not to mention the many reefs and heavy recreational vessel traffic posing navigational hazards to survey vessels.

Fugro’s award of more than 40,000 sq. km of acoustic collection spans both coasts, requiring tailored mapping solutions that are efficient in vast shallow-water flats as well as steep continental drop-offs in all seasons. Given the scope of work and the relatively short time to achieve all data collection, upon contract award in 2024, Fugro immediately started sourcing, contracting, and then mobilizing three offshore vessels, capable of getting to and from the survey area at relatively high speed.

While normally used to resupply offshore installations and to perform crew transfers, the vessels were provided with research status by the U.S. Coast Guard following application for and proof that the vessels would be used exclusively for survey purposes for the duration of the project. All three of these craft were fitted with a proprietary hydrodynamic gondola mounted to a recoverable survey pole over the side of the vessel. Inside the gondola is a dual-head multibeam echosounder. Essentially two sonars fitted at an angle to each other to increase possible coverage, the dual-head technology allows for wide swath coverage in one pass. The vessels were calibrated over the same site to ensure that collected data would conform and meet project specifications.

To enhance efficiency in deepwater, Fugro also tasked one of its owned vessels to collect high-resolution data in deeper water, primarily south of the Keys and off the southeast coast of Florida. This hugely capable vessel, the Fugro Brasilis, can accurately map the seabed from a minimum of 10 m (33 ft.) to a maximum of 7,000 m (23,000 ft.) using a hull-mounted multibeam echosounder system. Fugro also tasked one of its smaller boats, the 32-ft. catamaran Pelagos, to collect data in depths less than 10 m (33 ft.). This vessel was also equipped with a dual-head multibeam echosounder to map the shallow-water region and reefs close to the operating areas of the bigger vessels.

Data from all program support vessels are transmitted via satellite to the cloud. There, a combination of automated processes and a dedicated team of data processing specialists compiles and analyzes it for coverage, quality, and completeness. This allows the team to provide near-real-time feedback to the vessels, shifting the traditional onboard processing role to shore-based personnel. Furthermore, all onboard systems can be controlled remotely, enabling a lean vessel-based team, enhancing data collection efficiency, and improving the safety profile of Fugro’s fieldwork.

These near-real-time data and coverage results are also uploaded to Fugro’s VirGeo cloud-based geodata engagement and delivery platform. Beyond internal project awareness and progress monitoring, VirGeo enables DEP to track the project using the same high-resolution portal. Notably, VirGeo was also successfully employed during the ALB phase, providing DEP with up-to-date information throughout the lidar data collection portion of the program.

 

 

Overcoming Mapping Challenges

The planned acoustic acquisition period, extending beyond a year, requires comprehensive preparation for the diverse weather conditions that Florida’s marine environment can present. The project’s commencement in the lead-up to winter was met with frequent frontal systems traversing the area, resulting in considerable weather-related operational delays. While the associated winds posed challenges for personnel, the quality of the collected data has consistently been high.

A key reason in the selection of the vessels was their ability to quickly relocate in response to developing weather systems. This capability is vital for ensuring the safety of personnel, assets and equipment while allowing operations to continue as effectively as possible. The vessels utilize a wide range of weather information sources, including the expertise of Fugro’s own meteorological forecasters, to make well-informed decisions, particularly in preparation for hurricane season.

Maintaining up-to-date knowledge of weather trends and forecasts is crucial for maximizing opportunities to acquire high-quality data. The three primary vessels are equipped with advanced wide-swath sonar systems, enabling them to gather 3D data from an area up to six times the depth of the water below the sonar.

Continuous progress is further supported by a Fugro-designed moving vessel profiling system. This innovative system allows for the collection of sound velocity profiles of the water column while the vessels continue to acquire multibeam data, eliminating the need to slow down or stop. This information about water characteristics is essential for accurately predicting how sound travels through the water, thereby ensuring the seabed depth and position data obtained by the sonar system are as precise as possible.

By early April 2025, despite the significant impact of winter weather, more than 40 percent of the planned data collection has been completed, and the rate of acquisition is increasing with the arrival of more favorable weather. Progress is being carefully tracked to ensure that all data can be delivered and accepted by early 2026. Additionally, the possibility of deploying further assets remains an option to assist DEP in ensuring a successful program that achieves all its goals for coverage, accuracy and timely completion.

A Blueprint for Coastal Resilience

The FSMI represents a strategic investment in the state’s future. By adopting a comprehensive and coordinated approach to large-scale baseline mapping of its coastal waters, government and industry stakeholders will have access to the information needed to enable effective storm preparedness, responsible infrastructure planning, robust environmental stewardship, sustainable coastal tourism, and informed sand resource management.

Fugro is proud to have a significant role in this initiative, bringing cutting-edge technology and extensive expertise to the FSMI. By working closely with the DEP and leveraging advanced survey vessels and innovative data processing techniques, the company is contributing valuable data toward a future where Florida’s coastal resources are healthy and abundant.

As final mapping data are published in 2027, Florida will possess an invaluable asset to guide its coastal management decisions for decades to come, ensuring the resilience and sustainability of its economically and ecologically significant shoreline.

References

For a full list of references, contact Cheryl Hapke at: c.hapke@fugro.com.

Richard Goosen is the operations manager for Fugro’s marine hydrography operations in the Americas.

Dr. Cheryl Hapke is Fugro’s technical leader for coastal resilience in the Americas.