Optech's SHOALS Airborne Laser Bathymeters are a well-proven tool, used for hundreds of surveys in a wide range of applications. Based on the same principle as sonar, but using light instead of sound, SHOALS gather shallow water, shoreline and topographic (ground elevations) data simultaneously, integrating land and water measurements in the same data set. Depth and position measurements are accurate to IHO Order 1.
As well as surveying water depths from the air, and thus avoiding the time and access problems that bedevil other surveying methods, SHOALS can identify underwater objects as small as 2x2x2 metres resting on the ocean floor.
The SHOALS system combines a powerful, probing laser radar (lidar) and high-speed electronics on an airborne platform. Operating at altitudes of 200-400 metres, with laser spot spacing variable from 2x2 to 5x5 metres, SHOALS has a typical maximum depth penetration of 40-50 m in clear water, 20-40 m in coastal waters, and less than 20 m in more turbid inland waters.
