Synthetic Aperture Sonar Survey to Locate Archaeological Resources in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary on NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries vessel SRVx between 20100823 and 20100901

SAS technology exemplifies recent advances in geophysical
survey technology that will revolutionize maritime archaeological remote
sensing. Applied Signal Technology (AST) has combined their SAS with the
MacArtney FOCUS-2 ROTV to create the ultimate towed acoustic imaging device,
PROSAS Surveyor. Capable of an area coverage rate of 2.5 kilometer/hour with a
resolution of 3 centimeters, PROSAS Surveyor will greatly expand capabilities to
locate even the oldest archaeological sites on the continental shelf,
particularly where sedimentation is limited. Large area seafloor mapping at a
resolution capable of imaging very small targets is a tremendously expensive
proposition for submerged land managers responsible for bottom lands from 30 to
300 meters in depth. Daily operating costs for a suitable research vessel and
personnel limit the area that can be investigated. This project will for the
first time apply commercially available SAS technology to the search for
historic shipwrecks. The rapidity and resolution of this project's survey will
be as much as a four-fold increase in area covered as compared to conventional
marine archaeological remote sensing survey.