Marine Technology Reporter Blogs - mh370

With the imminent the start of the next phase of the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which is likely to get under way towards the end of September, it is interesting to take a look at the vessels and systems which will be participating, as it promises to be a very challenging search due to the harsh weather common to the area and a complex seafloor. Detailed information is being gathered on the topography of the ocean floor west of Australia, which confirms the seabed in some locations to be extremely rugged. This key survey, of a largely uncharted deepwater seafloor, will guide a millimetric search using towed side-scan sonars, magnetometers, sub-bottom profiler and AUVs. The Australian authorities have warned that the search could take a year to complete.

With the imminent the start of the next phase of the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which is likely to get under way towards the end of September, it is interesting to take a look at the vessels and systems which will be participating, as it promises to be a very challenging search due to the harsh weather common to the area and a complex seafloor. Detailed information is being gathered on the topography of the ocean floor west of Australia, which confirms the seabed in some locations to be extremely rugged. This key survey, of a largely uncharted deepwater seafloor, will guide a millimetric search using towed side-scan sonars, magnetometers, sub-bottom profiler and AUVs. The Australian authorities have warned that the search could take a year to complete.

For those of you who have NOT had access to electronic media for the past week (a small number, I am sure, but I’m covering all basis here) the subsea industry – specifically the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) market … and even more specifically Bluefin Robotics – have taken center stage globally as the hunt for the remains of missing Malaysian Air flight 370 continues in earnest. I turn on my news browser in the morning and I’m met with a Bluefin AUV; I run on the treadmill at the gym and on the TV screen see the Bluefin AUV. While all of this attention is presumably good for the company and the industry, it serves to highlight too the incredible work being done every day by professionals in the subsea industry…