Mapping the Hidden Bay Floor

The data in this catalog is mapped using advanced, crewless marine technology to protect Barnegat Bay.

Traditional visual checks cannot see heavy debris hidden in murky or deep coastal waters. To map these hidden targets, our field team deploys a robotic boat known as the Survey USV.

This Unmanned Surface Vehicle safely navigates shallow marshes, open water channels, and confined areas that larger, crewed research vessels cannot easily reach.

As the robotic boat travels along pre-programmed paths, it uses side-scan sonar to map the bay floor. This sensor shoots out sound waves and records the returning echoes to create clear, photographic-like images of the bottom. The sonar reveals the exact shape, size, and location of hidden structures like sunken concrete, tires, storm ruins, and forgotten crab pots.

With over 25 hours of active operations logged on the water, this mapping project continuously records and categorizes underwater targets. By translating sound waves into visual data coordinates, this catalog provides local boaters, researchers, and environmental teams with the precise information needed to safely navigate and restore Barnegat Bay.

Large-scale marine debris measuring up to 30×30 meters poses an immediate, severe threat to maritime safety in Barnegat Bay. These massive obstructions ranging from displaced docks and sunken vessel hulls to abandoned fishing gear clusters create catastrophic hazards for commercial boats, recreational vessels, and personal watercraft (PWCs) like jet skis.

Hull Breach and Structural Catastrophe

When a vessel strikes a massive, stationary object at cruising speed, the impact force often causes immediate hull fracturing or complete structural failure. Submerged debris can easily rip open fiber reinforced plastic or aluminum hulls, leading to rapid flooding and catastrophic damage to the keel. Furthermore, the sudden deceleration upon impact easily destabilizes smaller recreational boats, throwing passengers overboard and significantly increasing the risk of capsizing.

Propulsion and Steering Failure

Beyond structural destruction, large debris fields directly threaten a vessel’s mechanical operations. Heavy ropes, nets, or structural cables can entangle boat propellers, instantly seizing the engine and stripping the captain of control. When these heavy materials wrap around a spinning drive shaft, they bend the internal mechanisms and cause severe, costly mechanical failure. In many cases, the physical impact shears off or locks the rudders, leaving vessels completely unable to steer in busy coastal channels.

Specialized Hazards for Jet Skis and PWCs

Personal watercraft, such as jet skis, face a unique set of dangers due to their specialized propulsion systems. The jet pumps on these watercraft forcefully suck in water, meaning floating rope, plastic sheets, and smaller debris fragments are easily ingested into the intake. These materials instantly jam the internal impeller, destroying the pump and causing a total loss of power. Because jet skis operate at high speeds and ride low to the water, striking a semi submerged object can violently launch riders over the handlebars into the water.

Subsurface and Blind Spot Risks

The danger of these massive obstructions is compounded by their low visibility and unpredictable nature. Tidal fluctuations frequently conceal large debris just inches below the water surface, making them entirely invisible to the naked eye during high tide. This risk intensifies during fog, dusk, and night navigation, when low light conditions mask the hazards until it is too late to alter course. Because strong bay currents and storm surges constantly shift the positions of these large objects, they remain moving targets that are impossible to chart permanently.

When sunken vehicle tires rest in the waters of Barnegat Bay, they act as a hidden threat to our local marine ecosystem. While they might look like inert trash, these submerged tires cause continuous physical and chemical damage to the unique coastal habitats that support New Jersey’s marine life.

The Chemical Threat to Bay Waters

Submerged tires act as permanent sources of pollution, slowly leaching toxic substances directly into the estuary:

• Heavy Metals: Over time, tires release harmful metals including zinc, lead, and cadmium into the water column and surrounding sediment.
• Lethal Chemical Additives: Tire rubber contains 6PPD, a chemical that transforms into 6PPD-quinone. This specific compound is highly toxic to fish and aquatic life.
• Synthetic Oils: Plasticizers and softening agents leak out continuously, degrading the water quality that local species rely on.

Beyond chemical pollution, tires physically disrupt and endanger the delicate balance of the bay’s bottom-dwelling communities:

• Habitat Destruction: Driven by strong tides and storm surges, loose tires roll and shift across the bay floor. This movement crushes fragile eelgrass beds and disrupts the benthic communities where young fish and crabs hide.
• Microplastic Generation: As waves and sand grind down the rubber, the tires break apart into microscopic fragments. These microplastics are easily swallowed by local filter feeders like clams and oysters, moving toxic chemicals straight up the Barnegat Bay food chain.

Clusters