Sidescan

Sidescan for Shipwrecks or Marine Debris

Shipwrecks often serve as vibrant islands of marine life in otherwise barren seafloor environments, acting as stepping stones for biological colonization. In contrast, marine debris—such as abandoned lobster pots or lost fishing nets—can continue to trap and kill marine life long after being discarded. Both are human-made, and both leave a footprint on the ocean environment—sometimes beneficial, sometimes harmful.

Understanding their location and condition is essential for managing their impacts and informing mitigation strategies. That’s where sidescan sonar comes in—an indispensable tool for locating and characterizing underwater objects. It’s a foundational element in the collaboration between Marine Imaging and Eastern Search and Survey (ESS).

Driven by deep-sea experience and a commitment to operate from small, opportunistic platforms, ESS developed a custom system—including a heave-compensated depressor and a neutrally buoyant towfish. This design enables our teams to work from vessels as small as 16-foot skiffs or as large as 200-foot ships, in depths reaching 900 feet and sea states up to 5–6 feet—all while delivering exceptionally crisp acoustic imagery.

The result is one of the most effective and adaptable imaging systems available. Don’t just take our word for it—visit the ESS website and see how the owner surveyed more shipwrecks in four weeks than many teams have in years of fieldwork.