After years of working closely together on supplying some of the largest underwater noise research projects in the UK, RS Aqua and GeoSpectrum Technologies are now official partners. This new partnership means that RS Aqua is now an exclusive distributor of GeoSpectrum for the UK and can better support ocean scientists, engineers and the maritime industries in their sustainable exploration of our oceans.
Who are GeoSpectrum Technologies?
GeoSpectrum Technologies Inc. (GTI) is an ocean technology manufacturer who specialises in underwater transducers and systems. Based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, GeoSpectrum has been focused on the research and understanding of underwater acoustics since they were first established, more than two decades ago.
Through the decades, GeoSpectrum has expanded its products and services to now encompass a wide array of applications including defence and homeland security, oil and gas, and environmental research. In fact, their wide range of defence products includes a turnkey acoustic intelligence software – TruView, which is at the heart of the Canadian Navy’s Acoustic Data Analysis Center (ADAC).
In comparison, their hydrophones, part of their environmental research products, have made a name for themselves. In April 2022 Mayflower Autonomous Ship, a fully autonomous unmanned surface vessel designed and built by ProMare and powered by IBM technology, set out on a pioneering mission to cross the Atlantic from the UK to the US, with an aim to aid the development of fully autonomous AI systems for ocean science. Among the selected scientific instruments on board the Mayflower, was a GeoSpectrum hydrophone configured with a Porpoise recorder. Once the autonomous vessel reached North America in June 2022, both the hydrophone and recorder became the first to cross the Atlantic on board an Ai-powered vehicle.Having been the first underwater hydrophone to cross the Atlantic on an IBM-powered unmanned surface vehicle operated by an AI Captain. The combination of our Porpoise passive acoustic recorders and GeoSpectum’s hydrophones is not one reserved only for the likes of IBM. On the contrary, it is one of the most widely used combinations in our portfolio for high-specification studies. This is made possible due to GeoSpectrum’s years in development of these omnidirectional, highly customisable and robust hydrophones. They are not only carefully constructed but also rigorously tested using pressure and environmental chambers in GeoSpectrum’s production facility.
Distributing state-of-the-art underwater acoustic equipment
These small but mighty underwater microphones have made our working relationship with GeoSpectrum grow from strength to strength over the past 7 years. All leading to this year, 2023, when we can proudly announce that RS Aqua is now an exclusive UK distributor of GeoSpectrum Technologies Inc. With applications for their hydrophones ranging from detecting marine mammal noises to monitoring blow-out preventers (oil and gas) and subsea constructions, we are keen to see what new projects this new partnership will bring.
On the partnership, Ryan, Director of Fisheries and Research, commented: “The integration of GTI hydrophones into our passive acoustic systems allows them to record some of the richest underwater noise datasets in the world. On single missions, we have gathered evidence of low frequency seismic survey activity, and extremely high frequency cetacean echolocation clicks, all in high fidelity. GTI have been a key contributor to the fantastic growth we have experienced in the underwater acoustics field over the past 7 years.”
We are looking forward to partnering up with GeoSpectrum as an exclusive distributer and joining forces to aid the sustainable growth of the global blue economy.