Diving Deep: Unleashing the Power of ROVs for In-Depth Surveys of Marine Outfall Systems

  • Date :

Introduction

A marine outfall refers to a structure or system designed to discharge treated or untreated wastewater, stormwater, or other effluents from industrial, municipal, or other sources into a marine environment, such as oceans, seas, or coastal waters. These outfalls are typically located along coastlines and are used to release effluents from various human activities into the marine ecosystem. These outfalls are mainly pipelines or tunnels basically and their periodic monitoring is challenging as well as important. There are two types of marine outfall systems: Submarine outfalls and Surface outfalls.

Submarine Outfall: This type involves a pipeline that extends from the shore or a facility into the marine environment, releasing the effluent underwater. Submarine outfalls are often equipped with diffusers at the discharge point to promote the mixing and dispersion of the effluent, preventing the concentration of pollutants in one area.

Surface Outfall: In this type, the effluent is discharged at the water's surface. Surface outfalls may involve channels, pipes, or open structures that release the effluent directly into the marine environment. Similar to submarine outfalls, surface outfalls may also use diffusers or other mechanisms to disperse and dilute the discharged substances.

The design and operation of marine outfalls are subject to stringent environmental regulations to ensure that the discharged effluents do not cause harm to marine life, compromise water quality, or negatively impact ecosystems. Monitoring and regular assessments are often conducted to verify compliance with these regulations and to address any potential environmental concerns associated with the outfall discharge.

Understanding Marine Outfall Systems

The major components of marine outfall structures are,

  • Riser Pipes

  • Diffuser

The vertical pipe structures known as riser pipes can be built from a variety of materials, including concrete-lined steel, stainless steel, aluminium, FRP, GRP, and HDPE. The appropriate coating or protective techniques will increase its ability to withstand corrosion and other environmental factors. To discharge the effluent to the water body in an orderly way, diffusers are fastened to the end of the risers. To guarantee the correct operation of risers and diffusers, routine inspection and maintenance are required. Blockages in the diffuser may occur and may have an impact on the wastewater discharge.

The Limitations of Traditional Survey Methods

Diver-based inspection is the conventional method used to inspect marine outfall structures. The diver's safety is the main priority because there might be strong currents and very low visibility. The maximum depth the diver can go is the main restriction on the diver-based inspection. Diver-based inspections consume a lot of time. Another significant issue with the diver-based inspections is data accuracy. Human error is more likely to occur in diver-based inspections. 

ROV based Survey

ROVs are very prominent because they can function in very difficult environments. It is quite time-saving. It can be used in higher water currents and at deeper depths. It offers the most precise information. Multiple sonar systems on an ROV allow for complex engineering structure detection. Considering that muddy or turbid water can have very low visual quality, SONARs like Imaging SONAR and Side Scan SONAR can be used in these situations. Most often, side scan serves for seabed surveys. The marine outfall structures' acoustic images can be obtained with the aid of imaging SONAR. Data is transferred to the data storage system with the assistance of the electrical wire that is attached to the ROV. A further significant aspect of ROV is its gathering of data systems. The control station is where the data collected is stored and processed for easy user activity. Several parameters, including water depth, turbidity, and currents, are taken into consideration when determining the survey's operational pattern or strategy. HD cameras mounted on the ROVs that are guided closer to the risers can be used to take visuals. Similar to this, data about diffusers is gathered by the ROV equipped with Imaging SONAR by maintaining a safe distance from the marine outfall structure. When an ROV is equipped with Side Scan SONAR, it can dive to a specific depth below the water's surface and collect data regarding risers. 

The Multibeam echosounder and DGPS system are commonly employed for multibeam surveys. DGPS is the positioning system utilized in the survey.  Before mobilization, the survey boat's entire length and width were precisely measured. The DGPS was checked to the required precision before the commencement of the survey.  On the survey vessel's designated offset, the DGPS antenna was precisely mounted. A particular navigation program is interfaced with the DGPS system. Survey data is logged to specific software. The heading and position obtained in the survey is cross-checked to make sure there are no inaccuracies. To create final geographically positioned bathymetry data, the survey data is cleaned, filtered, and integrated.

Results

Both visual and SONAR data are recorded by the ROV and can be stored at the control station.  In addition, SONAR data and raw imagery can be post-processed. Heading, depth, and location can be superimposed on the raw data. The visual quality can be raised by making visual enhancements.  The risers of the marine outfall structure can clearly be seen from the Side Scan SONAR data. Surveyors can more clearly grasp the precise state of the risers and diffusers of the marine outfall structure with the use of both Side Scan and Imaging SONAR data.

Conclusion

As ROV operations are straightforward, they alleviate the need for divers in difficult and potentially dangerous environments. Finding the most significant anomalies in the structures is made easier by the real-time data collection, interpretation, and analysis of the ROV data. It helps the decision-makers find it simpler to take the required steps to protect the structure while using ROVs. Because ROV is safe and effective, it has a wide range of applications. It has broad applications in the domains of engineering and research. The potential of sensors, tether systems, and technological advancements in ROV make it a promising field. The potential of remote underwater vehicles (ROVs) and the advancement of technology can uncover hidden mysteries and provide new insights.