Sonar image of MH370 search released
The team responsible for finding flight MH370 have released video and an image to show the level of detail being recorded by search vessels scouring the Indian Ocean.
The image was posted on the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau website and shows a sonar acoustic representation of the seafloor gathered by the GO Phoenix.
“This is indicative of the resolution and quality of the data and that it is revealing important detail of the seafloor,” the statement on the website reads.
The video is a computer-animated flythrough of some of the sea floor terrain mapped by a bathymetric survey.
The GO Phoenix returned to the search area on December 9, where it joined the Furgo Discovery in underwater search operations.
A map of the search area for flight MH370. Picture: JACC
The Malaysian Airlines flight disappeared in March while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Of the 239 people on board, six were Australian.
About 41,300 square kilometres of the 60,000sqm high priority search area has been mapped. Once an area has been mapped it can then be searched.
The search for MH370 was now concentrated along a thin line along the Indian Ocean that includes all possible points where communication between the plane and a satellite could have taken place.
Load master Sgt Adam Roberts aboard a RAAF C-130J Hercules involved in the search for MH370. Picture: Michael Wilson\The West Australian
A detailed underwater search is being carried out along this strip using towed submersible vehicles fitted with sonar systems. The seafloor in the search area is 6km deep and cannot be penetrated by daylight.
The search is being conducted by the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, a co-operative effort between Australia, Malaysia and China.
