TDI-Brooks’ R/V Gyre acquired 82,000 sq km (31,660 sq mi) of high-resolution hull-mounted multibeam echo sounder data. According to the company, 1,223 active hydrocarbon seeps were detected in the multibeam water column data. Hydrocarbon seep analysis was conducted in near real-time onboard the vessel to speed up core selection. The Gyre is fitted with an EM302 MBES.
The R/V Proteus is scheduled to begin acquisition of the follow-up surface geochemical exploration (SGE) coring campaign in July 2020. About 245 piston core samples targeting suspected seep features selected from the MBES dataset will be collected, along with an additional 45 additional piston core samples for geotechnical and biostratigraphic studies. An additional 17 surface heat flow measurements will also be collected.
