Improved methods of
CABLE ROUTE PLANNING
The planning, installation and maintenance of submarine cables require the collaborative efforts and close coordination of widely dispersed individuals and information. In the last three years, methods used for submarine cable route planning have been completely transformed. Paper charts and simple spreadsheet-based tools have been replaced by accurate PC-based software that operates in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment. All data critical to the design are stored in a single database and are readily retrievable and viewed as layers on a GIS map. This software has become the standard for cable route planning. Typical data sources that are accessed and geo-referenced by a single software pack-
by Dr. Jose M. Andres Makai Ocean Engineering age include data such as bathymetry, soil types, side-scan images, aerial photographs of landing sites, CAD drawings, marine charts (e.g. Admiralty Charts, ECDIS (S57), Route Position Lists (as designed, as laid, and as repaired), cable assemblies, and installation notes. In addition, drivers are available for accessing nearly any commonly used image or database (e.g. ESRI GIS, Access, ODBC, SQL). A common data set, a method of accessing a variety of data sources, and a method of exchanging these data enhances the collaborative development by reducing errors and time. 11
This article describes new developments of an integrated software for submarine cable route planning, specifically in the area of digital terrain mapping (DTM). Incorporating mapping tools for DTM into the existing PC based GIS software further enhances the quality of the final route selected.
Survey data used in cable route planning Before a final cable route can be selected, system providers need to complete a detailed multibeam survey along the selected preliminary cable route. This survey is particularly critical in areas where the cable must be buried (depths up to 2,000 m deep). For a given project, final bathymetric data could easily consist of 30 to 100 million data points. Sur-