Side Scan Technology Finding the Hidden Past

Developed in the early 1960's by Dr. Harold Edgerton at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Edgerton found that applying the electronic principles from the flash tubes of high speed flash photography to acoustics that "flashes" of acoustic energy could be sent into the water and then record the reflections. Edgerton could then tow his sonar device behind a vessel and create a continuous image of the sea floor.

Original Images on Paper 

The original technology produced images on paper rather than a computer screen. These early paper records were produced by a thermal plotter that burned the sonar image onto a scrolling paper record. By the 1980's commercial systems using newer cheaper computer systems could convert the analogue scan into a digital scan displaying the images on a computer screen and storing data on computer hard drives.

Used to find the Titanic

By 1985 advances in submersible, video and side scan technology helped Dr. Robert Ballard discover the wreck of HMHS Britannic's legendary sister ship RMS Titanic at a depth of 3,800meters (12,467 feet).

Modern Side Scan Sonar 

Used for both exploring and mapping of lakes, rivers and the ocean floor the modern side scan sonar works similar to low illumination angle aerial photography (but with pulses of sound rather than light). It is useful for locating shipwrecks, downed aircraft, drums, tires, pipelines and other "targets".

You Don't have to Be Rich

Basic lake and river models can be purchased for around a thousand dollars and ocean ready models for under three thousand. All you need is a boat and a little disposable income and you can let the adventure of a life time begin.

Is the Sea the next Archaeology Frontier?

The following are facts and figures provided by UNESCO (www.unesco.com) (United Nations Educational Science and Cultural Organization).

* Over three million undiscovered wrecks are estimated to be spread across ocean floors.

* 65,000 are thought to have sunk since 1500 off North American coasts.

* Experts calculate that 850 ships - including 90 Spanish galleons and 40 Portuguese Indiamen - lie in the waters around the Azores.

* The Dictionary of Disasters at Sea lists 12,542 sailing and war vessels lost at sea between 1824 and 1962.

* Whole cites have disappeared under the waves, such as Jamaica's Port Royal, victim of earthquake in 1692.

* Remnants of ancient civilisations now under water include the Alexandria lighthouse in Egypt and numerous Neolithic villages under the Black Sea.

The technology to search the depths of the sea is finally becoming commercially available and with that its mysteries and treasures long lost are being discovered. Which has consequently created a new battle, are the ships being salvaged for their archaeological finds, or the treasures they hold. Spain for example has hailed Odyssey as pirates; yet Odyssey has worked closely with the Government of the United Kingdom to salvage the HMS Victory.

Apparently one Governments' pirate are another's friend strangely enough the same countries who were at war when many of these ships went down are now in a war over their salvage.