The fieldwork for Land Information New Zealand’s (LINZ, https://www.linz.govt.nz/sea ) HS70 Banks Peninsula Hydrographic Survey (HS70) is now complete. The offshore LINZ scope of works focussed on safety of navigation in water depths greater than 10m between Awaroa /Godley Head and Birdlings Flat. The nearshore coastal margin (0m to 10m) along the south coast of Banks Peninsula was also mapped using DML’s inshore survey vessel TUPAIA.
This coastal work was undertaken for Environment Canterbury (ECAN, https://www.ecan.govt.nz/) and the Department of Conservation (DoC, https://www.doc.govt.nz/) in partnership with LINZ. The south coast of Banks Peninsula provided a dramatic backdrop to the nearshore survey operations where towering cliffs, in excess of 200m are not uncommon. While working in this area, the DML team had regular encounters with local wildlife which they recorded and sent to DoC, using a custom app.
The task of processing and reporting on the 45Tb of Multibeam Echosounder (MBES), mobile Laserscanner (MLS) and Side Scan Sonar (SSS) data captured in the field is now underway at DML’s offices in Mount Maunganui. The final deliverables for the project will be supplied to LINZ, ECAN and DoC in June 2022.
