Can I detect object floating on the surface, such as logs or pallets?
Objects floating on the surface are masked by ‘surface noise’ or aeration at the surface. Wave action and boat action create this aeration. The depth of aeration varies depending on conditions. Sonar reads air as an object. This is how fish-finders function. They do not see the body of a fish, but rather the air bladder of the fish. Hence, any object in the aerated water near the surface is masked by the surface aeration. An object must protrude down below the surface aeration in order to be detected. A deadhead, where most of the tree sticks down below the aeration, can be detected, but a log floating horizontally on the surface is masked by the surface noise. Objects such as shipping containers, icebergs, and sleeping whales can be easily detected by Forward Scanning Sonar. The Forward Vertical Scan is used for this application.
