State-of-the-art sonar system comes on board at Plymouth University

Plymouth University has invested in a new state-of-the-art sonar system that will enable students to map the underwater world and visualise in detail features such as shipwrecks. The Multi-Beam Echo Sounder (MBES) will be used on board the University’s teaching and research vessels and has already been tested off the coast of Devon and Cornwall over wrecks such as HMS Scylla and the SS James Eagan Layne. Any student in the University’s Marine Institute who is studying hydrography will have access to the kit, which has been supplied by Swathe Services, based in Truro, Cornwall. Professor Simon Handley, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Environment, said: “Very few universities in the country can boast such a cutting-edge system, one which opens a window into the sub-sea world. It’s further evidence of Plymouth’s commitment to the student experience and its world-leading marine and maritime pedigree. The MBES sends a beam of sound into the water and can receive multiple beams back from the seabed or a feature below the sea surface up to a depth of 400 metres, and using specialist software, can accurately measure latitude, longitude, and the height of the feature. It will enable University researchers to conduct seabed mapping, and will be used in fieldwork trips by any student whose degree includes hydrography, such as Ocean Exploration.