The Bathyscan Precision Swathe Sounder

An interferometric high resolution swathe depth sounding system has been subjected to several sea trials and compared with simultaneously executed independent echo sounding surveys by the Navy. It has found high spots not found by the Navy, and the resulting data has been declared fully acceptable for chart correction. In another experiment it was established that bathymetric features can be measured above the towing depth and even in extremely shallow water. E.g. the detailed shape of a harbour breakwater was measured from a stand off course. The resulting high density depth matrices are ideal for pathfinding exercises or for synoptic analysis of seabed instability.