USING SONAR EQUIPMENT DURING THE PERIOD OF ICE FORMATION ON WATER BASINS

Abstract

The paper presents the technique of hydroacoustic equipment operation for ichthyologic studies in the period of reservoir icing and minimum ambient temperature. The stages of carrying out a mobile sonar survey are described: creating a route with drilling holes in the ice and conducting the survey. For trouble-free operation of the software-technical hydroacoustic complex it has been proposed to use warm sledge-trailer for the snowmobile. A metal frame and a geotextile awning are installed on the top of the sledge-trailer to protect it against precipitation and low temperatures. Inside the sledge there is installed a gas-electric generator, a hydroacoustic complex; in addition, in the front part of the sledge there is a workplace for the operator making the survey. To discharge the exhaust gases of the generator there is an opening made in the sidewall of the awning; to prevent melting of generator sides there are set up asbestos sheets. The awning is located at the rear of the sledge and takes 2/3 of its length. In the middle of the sledge-trailer there is an amortization table, on which a hydroacoustic complex and a field tablet are installed. The table is attached to the sledge body with rubber ties, due to which shaking of the equipment is minimized when the snowmobile and sleigh are moving over the uneven snow-ice cover of the investigated water area. Due to the air-cooling of the generator under the awning, a positive temperature is maintained, which ensures the uninterrupted operation of computerized scientific research equipment and allows the operator to work comfortably. The described method was successfully tested in ichthyologic studies in the field at min ambient temperatures in the winter-spring period on the watercourses of the Tyumen region within the Tobolsk and Uvat regions in the period 2016-2018.