The Search for Flight MH370 - Phase 2 Raw and Processed on the National Computational Infrastructure

On behalf of Australia, and in support of the Malaysian accident investigation, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) led search operations for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean. Geoscience Australia provided advice, expertise and support to the ATSB to facilitate marine surveys, which were undertaken to provide a detailed map of the sea floor topography to aid navigation during the underwater search. Prior to the Phase 1 bathymetric survey, very little was known about the sea floor in the MH370 search area, as few marine surveys have taken place in the area. Existing maps of the sea floor were coarse, having been derived from satellites and only providing a general indication of water depth. Before the underwater search for MH370 could begin, it was necessary to accurately map the sea floor to ensure that the search was undertaken safely and effectively. Survey vessels spent months at sea, scanning the sea floor with multibeam sonar and side scan sonar to gather detailed, high-resolution data.