side-scan sonar

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences | 1999 | 433 words | Copyright

side-scan sonar A sideways-looking acoustic-survey system which uses the reflection of high-frequency (30–110 kHz) sound waves from a surface to map the texture of that surface. It is most commonly used to map sea-floor features (sand ripples, rock outcrops, pipes, wrecks, etc.) but it can also be suspended vertically from a vessel to investigate vertical surfaces, e.g. the submerged parts of icebergs and major ice fronts.

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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "side-scan sonar." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "side-scan sonar." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-sidescansonar.html

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "side-scan sonar." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-sidescansonar.html

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