
Sub-Bottom Profilers
Echoes series
Benefiting from 30 years of field experience, Echoes Series of sub-bottom profilers are perfectly suited for deployment on both autonomous & manned maritime platforms. Developed in close collaboration with the French Navy and several International Oceanographic Research Institute laboratories, including the French Research Institute IFREMER, Exail sub-bottom profilers benefit extensive practicing and cumulative return on experience coupled with constant innovation and evolution.
High-resolution sedimentary deposits imaging
Based on the CHIRP technology mastered in-house and on the transducers wide aperture, Echoes Series acquires seismic reflexion data providing very high-resolution images of the sediment layers from shallow to deep water without horizontal discontinuity. Thanks to its integration with Delph Seismic software, the acoustic imagery of the seafloor allows to acquire, process and interpretate geological features, such as sedimentary architecture & detection of buried objects whatever the seabed topography.
Seismic profile from Echoes 5000 AUV kit (~1500m water depth)
High performance thanks to complete vertical integration

- Signal transmission remains at maximum power over the entire announced bandwidth
Exail know-how in sub-bottom profiling is built from a custom piezo-electric transducer design activity in the 150Hz to 400kHz range. These high-power and wide bandwidth devices were especially suited for the development of a complete range of controlled pulse sub-bottom profiler projectors.
Enhanced by in-house designed low distortion and high efficiency power amplifiers, all components are manufactured internally while many other manufacturers integrate off-the-shelf components.
This mastering of the acquisition chain ensures that the acoustic signal transmitted is very close to the theoretical CHIRP waveform, ensuring the highest degree of resolution and quality resulting from the signal processing.
Signal transmission remains at maximum power over the entire announced bandwidth:
Unique detection capabilities
Buried objects
High-resolution seismic profiles derived from Echoes measurements can show individual and parabolic structures that can be attributed to individual reflective objects, such as decimetric rocks or pipelines. This performance is due to Exail’s unique internal skills in the design of efficient CHIRP technology with large transducer beams (around 20°) that result in an impressive signal continuity and the identification of buried objects. This key performance brings new insights for 3D mapping of individual boulder clearance for shallow marine environment (< 150 m).
Gas detection
Seismic reflexion data highlights the presence of gas in sediments by a critical decrease of acoustic velocity generating blanking in seismic profiles. In recent studies in volcanic environments, Exail Echoes Series of sub-bottom profilers showed clear relations between locations of degassing and lake bottom morphologies, such as pockmarks and faults, providing information on how these morphologies influence volcanic degassing.
Learn moreAddressing the full spectrum of sedimentology operations

Figure 1: Seismic profile from Echoes 3500 T1 USV kit onboard of DriX in deltaic sandy environments
Echoes USV / AUV kit
Versatile, Exail Sub bottom profilers can be simply roped, pole-mounted or integrated on USV or AUV and easily operated using Delph Geo Acquisition software. Thanks to a rigorous industrialization process, all needs for efficient mobilization from vessels of opportunity to large research vessels are covered.
The Echoes Series covers a wide range of applications, from shallow to deep water:
Seafloor mapping,
Oceanographic survey,
Industrial survey,
Geotechnical survey,
Geo-archaeology,
Sedimentology
Paleoenvironments
Deep ocean operations.
Joining our crew is being part of a team where each day brings new challenges and the chance to shape the future of technologies in robotics, maritime, navigation, aerospace and photonics, to explore and build a safer and sustainable world.
Unique capabilities in very shallow waters
Echoes Chirp technology allows to obtain unique results in very shallow water environments. More than 12m of penetration in less than 1m of water depth.
Learn more" I have been using Exail Echoes sub-bottom profilers since 2001. Their efficiency in terms of resolution and definition enables us to get the geometry, morphology and size of sedimentary components we try to reach and characterize. "
Thierry Mulder Expertise in Deep Sedimentary Processes, Professor at University of Bordeaux, France
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Echoes Compact | Echoes 5000 | Echoes 3500 T1 | |
Operational depth | Shallow water & continental shelf | Shallow water to deep sea | Shallow water & continental shelf |
Frequency (kHz) | 5-15 | 1.7-8.5 | 1.8-6.2 |
Mean acoustic level (dBref1uPa@1m) | 194 | 180 | 195 |
Transmission power (kVA) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Resolution (cm) | 7.5 | 11 | 17 |
Digital data format (bit raw data) | 24 | 24 | 24 |
Available pulse | AM-FM/User-designed and chirp library | AM-FM/User-designed and chirp library | AM-FM/User-designed and chirp library |
Aperture (°) | 30 | Omnidirectional | 45 |
USV | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Pole-mount | ✓ | ✓ | |
AUV | ✓ | ||
Get quote | Get quote | Get quote | |
A complete and efficient solution with Delph Geo Software
Exail has also developed an open software suite for acquiring, processing and mapping all kinds of hydrographic and geophysical data. The Delph Geo Software Suite naturally makes the best from the Echoes sub-bottom profiler’s data with possible improvement on the chirp processing and complete 3D geo-referencing of survey data both in real-time and offline.
Learn moreApplications
Marine/lacustrine geosciences – Paleoclimate
Archeology and Geo-archeology
Pre & post dredging
High-resolution seismic reflection profiles
Operable from shallow to deep waters
- Sedimentary dynamics related to:
- Hydrological variability
- Geo-hazard
- Flood
- Earthquake
- Tsunami
- Erosion
- Identify artefact buried in sediments
- Designed for shallow waters
- High-resolution seismic reflection profiles for:
- Submerged prehistoric archaelogy
- Post-excavation interpretation
- Sedimentary processes
High resolution seismic reflection profiles
Operable from shallow to deep waters
Stability and distribution of sediments
Nature and volume of sediments to be dredged
Estimation of consistency and strength of sediments using Delph software
Offshore energy
- From shallow to full ocean depth water
- Nature and structure of the first 300 meters of sediments
- High-resolution seismic reflection profiles for:
- Marine platforms implantation
- Route/boulder clearance
- Pockmark detection
- Seabed roughness
- Bedrock depth
- Geo-acoustic inversion modeling