Sea Floor Mapping using the Data of Forward Looking Sonar and Side-Scan Sonar around the Hydrothermal Sites, South Mariana Trough

Abstract

Processed data of the mesotech 971 forward looking sonar was successfully plotted on a map and compared with side-scan-sonar (SSS) data and color image of original forward sea floor record. The accuracy of positions by LBL acoustic system is insufficient to process the sea-floor mapping. The accuracy and density of positions controls, in other saying, decides the quality of mapped seafloor images.