The EM302 multibeam sonar is capable of achieving large swath widths, of up to five times the water depth, which allows the <em>Okeanos Explorer</em> to map entire landscapes at one time. For instance, as seen in this image, by surveying parallel tracklines over an area, the ship was able to map two adjacent ridges and the pancake-like valley between them. The black lines indicate bathymetric contours 1,000m apart. The ridge on the right rises to 350 meters below the sea surface, making it 3,350 meters, or 2 miles, high.
Multibeam Bathymetry
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, INDEX-SATAL 2010. Download image (jpg, 19 KB).
The EM302 multibeam sonar is capable of achieving large swath widths, of up to five times the water depth, which allows the Okeanos Explorer to map entire landscapes at one time. For instance, as seen in this image, by surveying parallel tracklines over an area, the ship was able to map two adjacent ridges and the pancake-like valley between them. The black lines indicate bathymetric contours 1,000m apart. The ridge on the right rises to 350 meters below the sea surface, making it 3,350 meters, or 2 miles, high.
Learn more