The SSI Sys09/Sys100 systems are manufactured by Fugro Seafloor Surveys, Inc. (FSSI), Seattle, Washington.

The Sys09 is a towed body, vector side-scan, phase bathymetry sonar system operating at a frequency of 9 kHz.

While being towed at a depth of 100 meters, the system can map a swath up to 10 kilometers wide down to full-ocean depth. The system produces simultaneous real-time side-scan intensity images and industry standard swath bathymetric maps. The data is corrected for towfish altitude and movement using a depth sensor and a motion-sensing unit mounted in the towfish. For more information on the SSI Sys09, click here.

The Sys100 is a high-resolution vector side-scan sonar. Operating at 100 kHz, the system surveys swaths up to 1,000 meters wide, while delivering simultaneous real-time side-scan intensity images and bathymetric maps.

The data are acquired in 2,048 pixels across the swath, with each pixel containing a water depth and an echo intensity measurement.

The Sys100 towfish is towed within 150 to 200 meters of the seafloor with a two-body tow system. Typical survey water depths are between 20 and 1,200 meters.

All measurements are corrected for actual towfish attitude using an internally-mounted six-component, motion sensing unit.

The Sys100 towfish is equipped with a chirp subbottom profiler. Mounted in the towfish with the side-scan array, the transducer correlates subbottom data with bathymetry and side-scan intensity images. The subbottom profiler transmits at the same time as the side-scan. Both sets of signals are digitized and telemetered to the surface, where they are logged on an optical disk. For more information on the SSI Sys100, click here.

OIC interfaces with the Sys09 and Sys100 using OICToolkit for post-acquisition processing.