APPLICATIONS > SHIPWRECK HUNTING / TREASURE HUNTING
STARFISH SHIPWRECK HUNTING / TREASURE HUNTING
The fantasy of finding sunken treasure, a Spanish galleon or historical monuments and artefacts may no longer be just a dream for enthusiastic wreck hunters and marine archaeologists.
Wrecks, riches and historic sites once thought to be lost forever to Davy Jones' Locker can be found with help from StarFish.
Traditionally side scan sonar, the number one remote sensing tool for shipwreck hunting and underwater treasure hunting, has been very expensive to purchase. Commercial side scan systems are not affordable to most recreational divers, and as a result, many have been forced to try and manufacture homemade side scan sonars of their own with the project taking months or years to complete.
StarFish is a high definition, affordable, low cost side scan sonar system which opens up high-tech digital seabed imaging to everyone.
There are significant advantages when using StarFish for shipwreck hunting. StarFish covers exponentially more area than a standard echo-sounder or fishfinder where one would basically have to run directly over the wreck in order to locate it.
StarFish can image wide sections of the seafloor on each run allowing large areas to be surveyed for evidence of wrecks in a relatively short time. The near-photographic quality digital images produced by StarFish can highlight debris that is often visible around shipwreck sites even if the wreck is buried or beyond range.
Any visible trace left by a shipwreck or archaeological site on the seafloor landscape can be found using StarFish.
Analysis of StarFish images can help identify and possibly eliminate specific features of a wreck without the need to dive. Divers can also gain important information about a dive site, such as wreck orientation and potential hazards before entering the water.
StarFish is small, lightweight and very portable (it can even fit in a small rucksack!). It can be operated from the smallest of vessels making it possible to mount wreck or treasure hunt operations in difficult or remote locations.
APPLICATIONS SHIPWRECK HUNTING / TREASURE HUNTING
Some typical examples of seabed imaging applications for shipwreck / treasure hunting include...
- Shipwreck and cargo discovery.
- Dive site navigation.
- Discover tell-tail shipwreck debris.
- Identify and eliminate specific features of a wreck.
- Identify shipwreck orientation.
- Identify potential hazards before entering the water.
- Identify possible man-made structures for investigation.
- Marine archaeology.
StarFish. The seabed is your playground.
SHIPWRECK FACTS AND FIGURES
All facts and figures provided by UNESCO ( www.unesco.org ).
- Over three million undiscovered shipwrecks are estimated to be spread across ocean floors.
- 65,000 are thought to have sunk since 1500 off North American coasts.
- Experts calculate that 850 ships - including 90 Spanish galleons and 40 Portuguese Indiamen - lie in the waters around the Azores.
- The Dictionary of Disasters at Sea lists 12,542 sailing and war vessels lost at sea between 1824 and 1962.
- Whole cites have disappeared under the waves, such as Jamaica's Port Royal, victim of earthquake in 1692.
- Remnants of ancient civilisations now under water include the Alexandria lighthouse in Egypt and numerous Neolithic villages under the Black Sea.
StarFish. The seabed is your playground.