Although it's been several months since the search for the lost Malaysian Airlines plane, Flight 370, first grabbed news headlines, the hunt is far from over. According to Canadian news source the National Post, the effort to locate wreckage from the plane continues with the help of AUV detection and comprehensive underwater mapping. Australian scientists and researchers are combing over a previously unmapped area in the Indian Ocean.
While authorities have narrowed down the location of the remains, they still have reportedly 60,000 miles to search, and are preparing to use different types of technology to look over the possible crash site. The Australian transport Safety Bureau has obtained a three dimensional map of the ocean floor in this area, showing much of the rocky terrain and giving an idea of how to navigate it.
Science professor Simon Boxall told the source about the procedure involved in the mission and why mapping in advance saves time and money later. It's also a sign of why marine insurance is so necessary for exploration in strange areas.
"Before you can do the next level of detailed search, you need to know what is there,"," he said. "What you are doing is flying a piece of equipment very close to the sea floor and if you don't know what is there in the first place, you end up driving into a mountain."
Starting in October, sonar activity will begin with the help of two new ships that will use special cables to deploy sonar detection systems into these waters. Some of the trenches in this area are nearly a mile deep. All of the operations in an extensive underwater search should be covered by the right insurance protection in case the geography turns out to be difficult to negotiate.