"For anyone interested in hunting for wrecks or surveying the seabed, the StarFish is a great piece of kit!"
Dive Magazine
ADA(UK) Training & Development have integrated StarFish into their training course syllabus. For more information please contact ADA(UK).
Tel: ++44 (0)773 932 1211
www.underwater-archaeology.org.uk
The fantasy of finding sunken wrecks, a Spanish galleon or historical monuments and artefacts may no longer be just a dream for enthusiastic archaeologists and historians.
Lost wrecks 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 wreck location and marine archaeological survey, 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 locating wrecks. 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 wreck sites even if the wreck is buried or beyond range.
Any visible trace left by a wreck 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 archaeological surveys in difficult or remote locations.
Some typical examples of seabed imaging applications for wreck location / archaeological survey include...
StarFish. The seabed is your playground.
All facts and figures provided by UNESCO ( www.unesco.org ).
StarFish supports the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001.