£1.5 MILLION SONAR SYSTEM FOR MAPPING OCEAN FLOOR

A MAJOR part of the mission is to produce accurate maps of the ocean floor – with the ship fitted with a state-of-the-art £1.5million sonar system, the Kongsberg EM124. Mapper Kate Von Krusenstiern, 30, says: ‘This is the most powerful and accurate sonar in the world. Oceanmapping underpins ocean discovery. With sound, we can see the mountains, canyons and ridges that define our sea floor.’ The sonar sends sound-waves to the bottom of the ocean. They bounce back, giving an indication of how deep it is and what the sea floor consists of.

Von Krusenstiern uses data taken from both the sonar and three ‘landers’, machines that are released over the side of the ship each morning, to collect data, soil and animal samples. She describes the equipment as the ‘modern version of using a weighted rope’.