In 1906, American naval architect Lewis Nixon invented the first sonar-like listening device to detect icebergs. The dark is either seaweed or other plant material or rocks. Sample scan from monitor in the computer lab. On some scans, we have found the surface of the sea floor to be generally sandy and suitable for trawling, but then on another scan with similar data results, chunks of coral and rock have impeded our trawls and damaged the net. Certainly, the side scanner is great for defining large items or structures on the sea floor, but in areas where the contour of the floor is more subtle, picking out distinctions on the monitor can be harder to discern. While EdgeTech praises the accuracy of its own technology, we have learned that accurate readings of data on the monitor can be more taxing. This means that the side scanner provides fast survey results, but the accuracy of the results becomes the challenge. While the imagining sent to our computer monitors have been mostly sand and rock, one researcher in our crew said he has seen tanks, washing machines, and other junk clearly on the monitors during other research cruises. The side scanner provides higher resolution imagery. From the manufacturer’s information, I have learned that it was designed for search and recovery and shallow water surveys. Having seen the side scanner used at a dozen different research stations on this cruise, I wanted to learn more about capabilities of this scientific instrument. Preparing to put the side scan over board. Scanners such as these have been useful on other NOAA and marine conservation research cruises especially working to map and assess reefs in the Gulf. This system was added as a precaution in advance of trawling due to the uneven nature of the Gulf floor off the Florida Coast, which is not as much of a problem the further west one goes in the Gulf. Using a scanner such as this for a groundfish survey in the Gulf by NOAA is not typical. Since it plays a major role in the scientific research we have completed, I wanted to focus on it a bit more in this blog. That probe is called the EdgeTech 4125 Side Scan Sonar. I also mentioned the use of a probe to scan the sea floor in advance of trawling for fish samples. In my previous blog, I mentioned the challenges of doing survey work on the eastern side of the Gulf near Florida. Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico Mission: Leg III of SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey

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