QinetiQ Sonar Development
QinetiQ has announced the worlds first commercially available towed synthetic aperture sonar with integrated interferometric profiler, GeoSAS , which is to be marketed by GeoAcoustics (UK) of Great Yarmouth.
The EM 710 multibeam echo sounder is a high resolution seabed mapping system capable of meeting all relevant survey standards. The mounted system will be capable of seafloor mapping down to 2,000m and allows a choice of beam widths and transmission modes. The system can generate 800 soundings per ping with a frequency of 70-100 kHz.
Of modular construction, it can easily be adapted for towed survey or AUV hull-mounted operations and is claimed to be the only practical off-the-shelf SAS tool available for combined bathymetry and imaging.
The company adds that GeoSAS is also the only system of its type capable of offering long range 2.5cm (one inch) resolution with a coverage rate of 5.5km 2per hour, making it ideal for rapid route survey and mine countermeasures operations.
