Sonar to Monitor Gulf Oil Spill
Scientists from Seattle-based BioSonics (USA) are traveling to the Gulf of Mexico where they will use scientific sonar equipment to locate oil spilled as a result of the Deepwater Horizon accident. Working with National Response Corporation, BioSonics staff will utilise echosounders, typically used for fish population and stock assessment, in an unconventional application... the detection of submerged oil.
"This represents an exciting new arena for BioSonics and we are proud to associate our company with the spill response efforts in the Gulf", stated BioSonics president, Timothy Acker.
Tests for the US Coast Guard Research and Development Center recently demonstrated that BioSonics sonar systems are effective at locating submerged oil. It was concluded in a published report from the tests that BioSonics DT-X echosounders:
"...should provide better resolution and be able to calculate general thickness, which could provide some information about the amount of oil."
"...could be advantageous for guiding recovery efforts"