Seascout
The Seascout is a lightweight cone penetration test (CPT) system that operates from an underwater ground surface (seabed, lake/riverbed). Its purpose is the rapid determination of subsurface soil lithology to a penetration of about 5 meters. The basis of the lightweight design is a miniature cone penetrometer with a 100 mm2 cone base area, rather than the conventional 1,000 mm2. This results in a substantial reduction of the thrust and the reaction equipment requirements. Benefits of the SEASCOUT include:

• Lightweight unit with minimal deck equipment that can be deployed from small, economical vessels.
• Small operational team.
• Very quick mobilization and demobilization operations.
• Rapid testing, real time display of results and onsite evaluation of ground conditions.
• System flexibility that permits installation on other seabed machines and ROVs.

It should be noted that although mini-cones do not give the same accuracy as full-size devices, they provide valuable information on stratigraphy during preliminary site surveys at an economic rate.