Substantial technological innovations are associated with this project, including the development and testing of a prototype Long-Range Sidescan Sonar (LRSSS) complete with fiber-optic data transmission interface and cantilever winch. The LRSSS is a quantitative sonar that is capable of very broad coverage (>1 km swath) and could greatly improve the efficiency of habitat characterization and mapping.
Three sampling devices were used at selected stations along the tracklines to groundtruth acoustic backscatter and assemble a comprehensive understanding of the seafloor: