SHOALS Airborne Lidar Hydrography from Optech

Fast, Accurate and Cost-Effective where Acoustic Surveying is Most Limited

Optech's SHOALS airborne lidar bathymeters are now a well-proven tool, used for hundreds of surveys in a wide range of applications.  Based on the same principle as sonar, but using light instead of sound, SHOALS surveys clear water at depths of 0-50 m, and land.  Depth and position measurements are accurate to IHO Order 1.

SHOALS also has a unique capability:  it maps shallow waters, shoreline and topography (ground elevations) simultaneously, integrating land and water measurements in the same data set.

As well as surveying water depths from the air, and thus avoiding the time and access problems that bedevil other surveying methods, SHOALS can identify underwater objects as small as 2x2x2 metres resting on the ocean floor.

The SHOALS system combines a powerful, probing laser radar (lidar) and high-speed electronics on an airborne platform.  Operating at altitudes of 200-400 metres, with laser spot spacing variable from 2x2 to 5x5 metres, SHOALS has a typical maximum depth penetration of 40-50 m in clear water, 20-40 m in coastal waters, and less than 20 m in more turbid inland waters.

Main Customers

• Canadian Hydrographic Service
• United States Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
• Royal Swedish Navy
• Swedish Maritime Administration
  (© image of sunken ship at right)
• United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
• Japan Coast Guard

Optech and Lidar Bathymetry

Optech is the industry leader in lidar bathymetry, from building the world's first commercial lidar hydrography system in the early 1980s (LARSEN 500, still in operation), to designing, developing and manufacturing four of the six commercial systems in operation today.  Optech's lidar hydrography systems have been in operation since the mid-1980s.

Optech has worked closely with SHOALS system operators and data specialists.  The result of this long product commitment is the next-generation SHOALS-1000, which Optech is now manufacturing.

For recent SHOALS data and information on current and upcoming SHOALS surveys, visit the Joint Airborne Lidar Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX).

Many of the SHOALS data and other images on this site are provided courtesy of JALBTCX.