Oceanographic high throughput communications system

As sidescan sonar systems improve their resolution, the amount of sonar data transmitted to the topside processor will increase. Recently, a new design for sidescan systems has increased the amount of pings per sonar cycle from a single ping to up to four pings. This development called Multiping Sidescan Sonar (MSS) has lead to increased survey vessel operating speeds, which directly relates to lower cost per deployment. This paper will discuss the new Oceanographic High Throughput Communications System (OHTCS) developed at Benthos for handling the increased bandwidth (BW) requirement associated with the higher sample rates and greater volume of sonar data from MSS systems.