MH370 Phase 2: 5 m Resolution Sonar Imagery from Southern Indian Ocean Search

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) led search operations for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. This dataset comprises Side Scan Sonar (SSS), Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS), and multibeam sonar backscatter data at 5 m resolution collected during Phase 2 marine surveys between September 2014 and January 2017. Data was acquired by autonomous and towed sonar systems from vessels including Fugro Supporter and Go Phoenix.

Use Cases

• Generate detailed seafloor topography maps based on the multibeam sonar backscatter data.
• Analyze underwater search patterns and coverage based on the systematic marine survey described.
• Train or test image segmentation models for underwater object detection based on the 5 m resolution sonar imagery.
• Study geological features of the Southern Indian Ocean seafloor based on the collected sonar backscatter.

Strengths

• Data was collected at a high 5 m resolution.
• Surveys were conducted over a multi-year period from September 2014 to January 2017.
• Data originates from a formal, multinational investigation led by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
• Multiple advanced sonar systems (SSS, SAS, multibeam) were used.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Governments of Australia, Malaysia, and the People's Republic of China, via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

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 2026-06-04 05:42:09.299940; freshness should be verified

Geography

Southern Indian Ocean