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Front Page > Technology > Measuring Physical Properties > Standard & Multi-Frequency Echo Sounders:
   

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.

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)


A diagram demonstrating the greatly increased coverage effectiveness of Multi Beam (right) versus Single Beam (left) Echo Sounding. (NOAA Ocean Explorer)


A depiction of SONAR Multibeam scanning along the surface of the seafloor. (Dive Discover, Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute)


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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