Dr Alexandre Schimel

Position:

Fisheries Acoustics Scientist

Phone:

+64-4-386-0510

Location:

Wellington

Science Centres:

Coasts and Oceans,

Fisheries

Qualifications:

PhD Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Waikato, New Zealand (2011)

Master of Engineering, ENSTA Bretagne, France (2004)

Biography:

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

Articles:

Mountjoy J.J., Howarth J.D., Orpin A.R., Barnes P.M., Bowden D.A., Rowden A.A., Schimel A.C.G., Holden C., Horgan H.J., Nodder S.D., Patton J.R., Lamarche G., Gerstenberger M., Micallef A., Pallentin A. and Kane T., 2018. Earthquakes drive large-scale submarine canyon development and sediment supply to deep-ocean basins. Science Advances 4: eaar3748. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aar3748
Schimel A.C.G., Beaudoin J., Parnum I.M., Le Bas T., Schmidt V., Keith G. and Ierodiaconou D., 2018. Multibeam sonar backscatter data processing. Marine Geophysical Research 39:121-137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-018-9341-z
Ierodiaconou D., Schimel A.C.G., Kennedy D., Monk J., Gaylard G., Young M., Diesing M. and Rattray A., 2018. Combining pixel and object based image analysis of ultra-high resolution multibeam bathymetry and backscatter for habitat mapping in shallow marine waters. Marine Geophysical Research 39:271-288. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-017-9338-z
Ierodiaconou D., Schimel A.C.G. and Kennedy, D.M., 2016. A new perspective of storm bite on sandy beaches using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplementary Issues 60(3):123-137. https://doi.org/10.1127/zfg_suppl/2016/00247
Schimel A.C.G., Ierodiaconou D., Hulands L. and Kennedy D.M., 2015. Accounting for uncertainty in volumes of seabed change measured with repeat multibeam sonar surveys. Continental Shelf Research 111: 52-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2015.10.019
Che Hasan R., Ierodiaconou D., Laurenson L. and Schimel A.C.G., 2014. Integrating Multibeam Backscatter Angular Response, Mosaic and Bathymetry Data for Benthic Habitat Mapping. PloS one 9(5): e97339. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0097339