A Medium range side scan sonar for use in coastal waters: Design criteria and operational experiences

This paper describes the design criteria for a medium range (750 M) side scan sonar system developed at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography and summarizes some results obtained through its use. It was constructed to fill a need for a system capable of operation out to the edge of the Continental Shelf, in the presence of the strong thermoclines prevalent in the North Atlantic. Because of the environmental conditions in the area of operation, a number of features not found in commercial side scans at the time of design have been incorporated to maximize effective range. These include a remote operated slip ring winch to permit continuous optimization of towing depth, temperature and depth sensors in the towed body to monitor its position with respect to the thermocline, and transducer angle adjustment from the operator console. Survey work with the system to date has been conducted off the coasts of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador. Many interesting bottom topographic features have been observed, the most important being widespread iceberg scouring in the latter two areas having significant implication on oil pipeline installations.