Use of a low-cost unmanned surface vessel for bathymetricy surveys and pocket beach sediment dynamics monitoring

The aim of this study was to use an unmanned surface vessel (USV) for bathymetric mapping. A commercially available compact USV associated with a single beam sonar was used for over a year on two Maltese pocket beaches. Precise bathymetric maps very close to the coast were constructed and showed seasonal sediment fluxes. This user-friendly and easy to operate device from PowerVision, proved to be a cost- and time-effective tool for coastal bathymetric surveys and made possible the collection of data for science-based coastal management.