Figure 16. (a) Side-scan sonar images the seafloor surface by sending and receiving sound waves from either side of a submerged "towfish" with port and starboard transducers. Sound is reflected from distances of 25 to 300 m on either side of the vessel's path. Hard bottom reflects more sound energy than soft to produce spatially varying images. (b) A seismic reflection profiler measures the vertical layers beneath the seafloor. Sound waves from a surface-towed transducer are received by a separate hydrophone array after they bounce off different rock or sediment boundaries.

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Last updated on October 6, 2005

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