MH370 Phase 2: 5 m Resolution Sonar Images for Seafloor Mapping

Geoscience Australia provides Side Scan Sonar, Synthetic Aperture Sonar, and multibeam sonar backscatter data at 5-meter resolution. The data was collected during Phase 2 marine surveys led by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau between September 2014 and January 2017. Governments of Australia, Malaysia, and the People’s Republic of China collaborated on the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean.

Use Cases

• Train object detection models for underwater wreckage based on high-resolution sonar imagery.
• Analyze seafloor topography and backscatter characteristics for geological research.
• Develop data visualization tools for search and rescue operations in marine environments.
• Benchmark image processing algorithms for synthetic aperture sonar data fusion.

Strengths

• Data resolution is specified as 5 meters.
• Collection period is defined as September 2014 to January 2017.
• Multiple sonar technologies (SSS, SAS, multibeam) are included.
• Data collection involved specific AUVs and vessels named in the description.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic/temporal bias inherent to the specific search operation.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, on behalf of the Governments of Australia, Malaysia, and the People's Republic of China.

Collection Method

Collected via marine surveys using Echo Surveyor 7 (Kongsberg AUV Hugin 1000), Edgetech 2400 Deep Tow, and SLH PS-60 Synthetic Aperture Sonar Deep Tow.

Time Range

September 2014 to January 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 12:59:01.165724; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southern Indian Ocean (search area for flight MH370)