Side Scan Sonar for
Shipwreck Exploration and Discovery
Marine Sonic Sea Scan PC Side
Scan Sonar for near photographic images of the ocean floor.
Capt.
Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection
SIDE SCAN SHIPWRECK SURVEY
Dive Wreck Valley Side Scan Sonar Video click above to view Capt. Dan Berg's Dive Wreck
Valley Side Scan Sonar episode. This video is available free online on Google
videos.
Check out the
Wreck Valley Multi-Media Shipwreck CD It comes complete with the Marine Sonic Side Scan Review Program! Now you can open local shipwreck side scan images, measure, enlarge, print images etc! All on your own computer!
Aqua Explorers Inc., is proud to announce a joint project with Marine Sonic Technology of Virginia to side scan survey the shipwrecks off New York and New Jersey. Known as Wreck Valley this area has literally hundreds of shipwrecks hidden beneath the sometimes harsh Atlantic's surface. Vessels sunk here range in age, material, construction as well as depth. The research project will be jointly funded by both companies and will utilize a new state of the art sonar developed by Marine Sonic. According to Dan Berg, President of Aqua Explorers and author of ten shipwreck related books. "The new affordable technology of this sonar will enable sport divers to accurately find, survey, measure, map and even identify many wreck sites. The main advantage of Marine Sonic's side scan unit is that it does not merely print out a hard black and white paper recording but rather incorporates a personal computer to store live color images of each site. These images can be enhanced, enlarged, and even measured giving us more information then ever before without even putting a diver into the water. Of course if a paper record is needed a color print can be generated on any color printer. Called the Sea Scan Pc we have already had great success scanning the waters off Long Islands South Shore. I was amazed at how well the Sea Scan functioned even on small low lying wrecks. We can scan upwards of a football field to either side of the boat while generating images that are as clear and detailed as a photograph. The system also incorporates a plotter built into the Sea Scan software. The PC is interfaced with either a GPS or Loran for location and speed information. We can then mark wrecks on the screen and utilize the plotter to navigate directly to the site. In the past it would sometimes take upwards of six months to develop an
underwater sketch of a shipwreck site. Now we can do it in a day with greater accuracy and much greater detail."
Searching for shipwrecks has always been a difficult and
sometimes costly endeavor. There are several methods divers
have used to conduct these searches. In many cases, divers
would go out to check "hang numbers" from a local fishing
boat. The spot which caused the fisherman's rig to "hang"
could be anything from a single pipe to a virgin wreck.
Other divers have invested time and money in machines like
proton magnetometers which register anomalies when passed
over any metallic object. Targets produced would then be
investigated by the divers who could find the metallic
object, which many times produced only 55 gallon drums. Some
sophisticated wreck hunters even utilize side scan sonars
which use sound waves to scan the ocean floor. In the past
these machines could cost up to $100,000. Underwater
searching technology has just entered the twentieth century
and wreck hunters now have a new toy. Mike McMeekin and I
met Doug Blaha from Marine Sonic Technology, Ltd at DEMA 95.
Doug demonstrated to us some barge and wreck images he had
stored in his computer. The images were so impressive that
we arranged for a real life ocean demonstration. Seeing is
believing in my eyes.
In the spring of 1995 Doug Blaha and Pete Wilcox of Marine
Sonic came to New York to demonstrate Marine Sonics new Sea
Scan PC Side Scan Sonar. This new patented technology is so
advanced and yet comparably affordable that it was hard to
believe Doug's claims. Doug first explained that the best
way to "see" underwater is with sound. Underwater, light is
quickly diffused and very ineffective. Even the brightest
light yields only a few feet of visibility. A good analogy
is a room filled with thick heavy smoke. Bright lights are
nearly useless but sound travels well through the room.
Fisherman have employed fish finding sonars for years with
good success. Fish finding sonars look down through the
water and display objects appearing above the bottom. Side
scan sonar is engineered to look sideways through the water.
Doug explained that the Sea Scan PC Side Scan Sonar was
unique in at least three significant areas, cost,
performance and operability. He claimed that the Sea Scan PC
was an affordable, high tech system featuring performance
unequaled by systems costing three times as much or more. It
is portable, easy and contains features only made possible
with a high performance personal computer.
Cost was, of course, the first thing that went through my
mind. Marine Sonic utilizes a PC instead of a dedicated
processor. PC's are manufactured in the millions thus
significantly reducing one of the most expensive components
of a side scan system. Added benefits from the PC are an
integrated plotter for navigation, digital processing,
filtering and enhancement of data and the ability to store
images on disk rather than the hard thermal paper normally
associated with most side scan systems.
We
boarded the Wreck Valley joined by Captain Steve
Bielenda, Captain John Lachenmayer and Mike McMeekin and
started to scan shipwrecks. Marine Sonics fresh approach to
side scan technology comes from the medical field. Using
low power and extremely low noise electronics, the sonar
emits very short, precision pulses in narrow focused beams
to produce clean, crisp near photographic images. Pete
demonstrated how easy it was to deploy and tow their
transducer carrying fish tow. They then interfaced the
computer with the Wreck Valley's loran and brought
up a plotter display. We then inputted the TD's of a known
shipwreck and were able to not only see a visual reference
(Marker) of the wreck on the plotter, but also the position
and the area we had already scanned. Doug showed how a
simple key stroke changed the scanning distance or swath
width. The unit is capable of scanning up to 500 meters to
either side of the vessel but we would be looking for better
resolution and therefore scanning at around 100 meters of
ocean floor. Once we passed over the wreck the image
appeared on the computer screen. Their was no interpolating
the image or wondering what we were seeing. The image of the
wreck, the Black Warrior, was clear and we could
easily recognize details like the wreck's boiler, mast and
low lying debris field. For the rest of the day we cruised
around the ocean scanning wrecks, in fact, we imaged nine
wrecks in one day! Doug also continued to impress us with
the machine's versatility. He demonstrated how we could get
larger more detailed images by scanning the same site on a
smaller scale or by only scanning off one side of the tow
fish. He showed how the Sea Scan PC could measure objects on
the bottom and how it could triangulate to calculate the
relief of the target. To say the very least everyone on the
boat was very excited. We had learned more about the actual
layout and surrounding areas of these nine wrecks in one day
then in the last ten years of diving. We even found several
targets that we want to go back and investigate on SCUBA.
Operability, on most sophisticated side scan units mandates
a trained professional technician. The Sea Scan PC unit,
however, is extremely user friendly. In fact, almost anyone
who has ever operated a personal computer can learn the
basics in just a few hours of practice. The superior
performance and ease of use claimed by Doug was easy to
prove. Even with yours truly behind the controls of the
computer we continued to produce quality images. Experience
is very important, but new operators will quickly grasp the
principles and recognize the key features. Since data is
stored on a hard disk in the computer, images can be
reviewed later after returning from sea in the comfort of
home or office.
Side scan sonar is the technology of the future that will
enable us to not only produce more accurate underwater
sketches of known wrecks, but to search and identify new
sites to dive. For additional information on the Sea Scan PC
Side Scan Sonar contact Marine Sonic Technology, Ltd., 5580
George Washington Memorial Highway, White Marsh VA
23183-0730 or call them at (800) 447-4804. I will also be
running a hands on basic side scan course/expedition where
we will be searching for an undiscovered shipwreck. For
course details you can contact me at Aqua Explorers, Inc. at
(516)868-2658.
Shipwreck
Diving, by Capt. Dan Berg is a complete how to book about the
sport of wreck diving. This book is packed with information and
heavily illustrated with over 80 sensational color photographs.
Shipwreck
Expo Free Newsletter
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treasure hunters.
WRECK
VALLEY III
By Capt. Dan Berg
The most comprehensive, accurate, illustrated
collection of information, photographs, sketches
and stories ever written about the
shipwrecks
that lie off Long Island, New
York and New Jersey.
Soft cover, 8x10", 188 pages
printed in full color. $39.95 +P&H
The original Wreck Valley book was
published back in 1986. At the time it was not
only the first but the only book for area divers
that detailed local shipwreck history and dive
conditions.
Capt. Dan's 2nd edition was printed in 1990 and
became the most popular of his shipwreck
publications.
Wreck Valley III is a
completely new update, expanded and enhanced
edition of the
Wreck Valley books. Wreck Valley's
3rd edition covers the history,
legend, present
condition, aquatic life, and pertinent dive
information on over 140 shipwrecks.
This text includes over 550 illustrations,
comprised of over 400 color photographs, 111
black and white historical photographs, 35
sketches, 20 side scan sonar images and nine
3D underwater shipwreck illustrations.
Capt. Dan completely changed the books format
and design to accommodate all of the research
and images collected in 30 years of local
shipwreck diving. The collection of historical
photographs alone would take years of
archive
research to locate and would cost a small
fortune
if purchased separately. Many of these rare
images have never before been published.
Wreck Valley III
includes a GPS list of accurate artificial reef
and shipwreck locations. Divers, fisherman,
marine historians, armchair sailors or anyone
with a general interest in history, diving or
the sea will surely find this book informative,
fascinating, and the perfect addition to their
library.
WRECK
VALLEY III Sample
Pages
WRECK
VALLEY III
By Capt. Dan Berg Get your autographed copy of
Capt. Dan's new book today.
only $34.95 + 4.95 (priority mail)
***Also
available as instant Downloadable ebook*** Only $16.95 -for ebook version
15.9 MB instant download, printable PDF file
NOTE: The 2nd
edition is out of print but has now been made available as
an instant download ebook.
Buy Now
only $9.95
12.3MB instant download, printable PDF file
This is the most comprehensive, accurate, illustrated
collection of information, photographs, sketches and stories
ever written about the wrecks that lie off the Long Island,
New York, and New Jersey shores. This ebook is a completely
new updated, expanded and enhanced edition of Daniel Berg's
original
Wreck
Valley book. Wreck Valley Vol II covers the history, legend,
present condition, aquatic life and pertinent dive
information on over 90 shipwrecks. This text includes over
265 illustrations comprised of 137 color photographs, 97
black and white historical images, 32 sketches, plus one
map. The collection of historical photographs alone would
take years of archive research to locate and would cost a
small fortune if purchased separately. Many of these rare
photographs have never before been published. Divers,
fisherman, marine historians, armchair sailors or anyone
with a general interest in history, diving or the sea will
surely find this ebook informative, fascinating and the
perfect addition to their library.
The Waterfront
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Find a
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Books by Capt. Berg Shipwreck, beach diving and
wreck diving books by Capt. Dan Berg