ES18-11MK2

Kongsberg Discovery's new ES18-11 MK2 transducer extends the operating frequency range of the existing ES18 split-beam transducer from 18 kHz to at least 14-22 kHz, increasing the resolution of the data and providing more information for target identification in this frequency band.

The development project also led to an improvement in the design of the transducer elements, reducing the challenge of ringing, which means the transducer can be used for both shallow and deep water measurements.

The core application of the ESI8-11 MK2 is identification of biological targets. The 18 kHz transducer is already common on most research vessels, but the wider bandwidth of the ES18-11 MK2 can reveal the much richer biological diversity actually present. The results can be used to fingerprint the species present, revealing components of the food chain in the area. "Every commercially fished fish stock must have a management plan, and the MS18-11 MK2 will help provide more holistic ecosystem assessments so that authorities can make better stock management decisions," says Andersen.

Understanding life in the water column is also key to environmental impact studies, for example in the development of offshore wind farms, where EK80s have already been used to collect ecosystem data in Europe and the USA.