Analysis of functional and technical characteristics and the choice of the multi-beam echo-sounder for the bathymetric survey in the ice conditions
The article analyses technical and functional features of the deep water multi-beam echo-sounders with ice antenna protection, needed for bathymetric survey in polar seas. The background has been dictated by the necessity of the domestic icebreaker's equipment for bathymetric survey in the Arctic Ocean with the purpose of determination of the continental shelf external boundary in the Russian Federation in the Arctic. The result of the analysis is the multi-beam echo-sounder EM 122 by the Norwegian company «Kongsberg Maritime» as the most efficient in viewpoint of price/quality ratio.