Side-scan sonar

Mapping the sea floor by sweeping it with sound from a towed instrument.

A towfish pulled behind a ship sends fans of sound to either side and records the echoes, building an image of the bottom in which wrecks, rocks and debris stand out by their shadows. It found HMS Erebus and Terror and is the main tool of the searches for MH370, the Flor de la Mar and the San José. A sonar target is a shape; identification needs a camera.

Where it comes up

Oak Island money pit

The only public geological survey document is a preliminary Geological Survey of Canada interpretation of a 1996 multibeam sonar survey, which notes circular seabed depressions that may be gas pockmarks or sinkholes…

Cite it

Mysteries Department. (2026). Side-scan sonar [Concept CPT0DECW079FQPY]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DECW079FQPY

@misc{mysteriesdept_cpt0decw079fqpy,
  title     = {Side-scan sonar},
  author    = {{Mysteries Department}},
  year      = {2026},
  note      = {Concept, catalog key CPT0DECW079FQPY},
  url       = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DECW079FQPY}
}