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How does a submarine 'see' using sonar?

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Prev NEXT. Sonar station onboard the USS La Jolla nuclear-powered attack submarine. Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Defense. Light does not penetrate very far into the ocean, so submarines must navigate through the water virtually blind. read more

Most military submarines use passive sonar where the screen shows sounds in a “waterfall” display. The display on many sonars shows multiple Depression/Elevation angles and each band of data in the waterfall shows sound sources in azimuth and integrated over time. read more

Active sonar; like radar, active sonar systems are readily detected, so active sonar is usually used only entering and exiting ports. Pilotage — in coastal and internal waters, surfaced submarines rely on the standard system of navigational aids (buoys, navigational markers, lighthouses, etc.), utilizing the periscopes for obtaining lines of position to plot a triangulation fix. read more

Active sonar emits pulses of sound waves that travel through the water, reflect off the target and return to the ship. By knowing the speed of sound in water and the time for the sound wave to travel to the target and back, the computers can quickly calculate distance between the submarine and the target. read more

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