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Illustration showing how multibeam sonar works.

Illustration showing how multibeam sonar works.
Illustration showing how multibeam sonar works.
Illustration showing how multibeam sonar works.
Illustration showing how multibeam sonar works.
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207497
Cook, John E.
Illustration showing how multibeam sonar works.
Illustration
11/02/2012
graphics/Oceanus_v49n3/MultibeamSonar.jpg
Caption from Oceanus magazine, vol. 49, no. 3, pg. 47:
The researchers first tacked back and forth across the basin as a multibeam sonar mounted on the bottom of the ship emitted sound waves that reflected off the seafloor. That gave them an overall view of the bottom topography. The study area was about 55.5 miles (90 kilometers) by 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) and included the part of the seafloor lying above the seismic profile that started it all.
Image Of the Day caption:
One of the most powerful tools oceanographers use to map the bottom of the ocean is multibeam sonar, which uses sound waves to reveal the outline and surface characteristics of the seafloor. A transmitter mounted on the bottom of a research ship or underwater vehicle sends sound waves toward the bottom. The reflected sound waves are influenced by water temperature, as well as the shape and makeup of the reflecting surface, and used to create a map of seafloor topography and composition. WHOI scientists have used multibeam sonar to map everything from ocean basins to shipwrecks to lake floors engulfed by volcanic ash.
Illustration by Jack Cook
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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