Standard & Multi-Frequency Echo Sounders
Standard and Multi-Frequency Echo Sounders, also called Multi-Beam SONAR,
allow scientists to accurately image the shape of the ocean floor, as
well as densities of marine animals in the water column. Unlike standard
Side-Scan SONAR, which produces a flat image with shadows denoting the shape
of the seafloor, this type of acoustic technology produces a more fully rendered image that
covers a wide swath of the benthos, providing a more detailed image, as
well as more accurate measures of water depth.
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The towed body housing the Echo Sounder used for the observation of fish and plankton, even at great depths. (Mid-Atlantic Ridge Ecosystems - MAR-ECO) |
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A diagram demonstrating the greatly increased coverage effectiveness of Multi Beam (right) versus Single Beam (left) Echo Sounding. (NOAA Ocean Explorer) |
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A depiction of SONAR Multibeam scanning along the surface of the seafloor. (Dive Discover, Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute) |
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Image of the seafloor of western Brown's Bank, western Scotian Shelf, created by a Multibeam Echosounder. (Gordon Fader, Geological Survey of Canada; see full-size image -- 77K) |
Click on the links below to see what Census projects use this technology:
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