Image Gallery/Data Samples
Images obtained with the Sea Beam SASS Multibeam System
Sumatran Coastline
Enormous Scar
The powerful, high-precision multibeam echosounder system, jointly developed by the U.S. Navy and SeaBeam Instruments, Inc. over a decade ago, provided the world with its first images of the ocean floor near the epicenter of the Asian tsunami. The SASS IV system installed aboard the UK Navy’s oceanographic survey vessel, HMS “Scott”, is a low-frequency, high resolution multibeam sonar system that collects and processes seafloor depth data. It produces 3-D bathymetric images over a wide swath, in near real-time. Following the 9.0 magnitude quake that occurred on December 26th, the “Scott” deployed to the area and quickly collected a significant amount of bathymetric data. The data was then used to create 3-D images that scientists are still evaluating to further their understanding of the earthquake and assist in the prediction of such events in the future.
The SASS IV is a unique ocean mapping system used by both the U.S. and U.K. Navies to survey deep-ocean areas around the globe. SeaBeam Instruments, Inc. was contracted by the Navy to design and deliver major components of the SASS systems in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
The color 3-D seabed maps created by the multibeam system show ridges up to 1,500 meters (4,950 feet) high that were thrust up when the India tectonic plate collided with and was pushed underneath the Burma plate. These detailed maps are the first to be collected of the rupture zone.
Images supplied courtesy of the Royal Navy UK Hydrographic Office and CARIS.