Alexandre Schimel

Member since: 4/23/2018

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NIWA

Fisheries Acoustics Scientist

Bio: Alex is a marine scientist with a background in the theory, data processing methodologies and applications of underwater acoustics (sonar systems), and a wider research interest in remote-sensing technologies for mapping the marine and coastal environment. A large part of his education and work experience is in the processing of data from multibeam sonar systems (bathymetry, backscatter, and water-column data) to obtain information about the marine environment.

Examples of application include:
* Estimating volumes of sand displaced in the shallow coastal area, or volumes of canyon material displaced by an earthquake (using bathymetry data from repeat multibeam surveys);
* Mapping the types of seabed (habitats) within marine reserves (using machine-learning algorithm exploiting bathmetry and backscatter data);
* Detecting giant kelp plants (using water-column data).

Alex's education and experience in underwater acoustics have applied to other systems beyond multibeam sonar: sidescan sonar, single-beam echosounders, sub-bottom profiles, and split-beam (fisheries) sounders.

Coding mostly in MATLAB, Alex gathers the tools he develops in the open "CoFFee" toolbox maintained on Github: https://github.com/alexschimel/CoFFee/.

Alex's interest in remote-sensing technologies has often extended beyond underwater acoustics. Most recently, he has been exploring the potential of high-resolution imagery data obtained from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) for applications in coastal ecology and geomorphology.

See his blog "Mare Incognitum" for photos, videos, and research reports: https://aschimel.wordpress.com