after may 2014, now the search moved to a new search team.
The new search zone comes as Dutch engineers begin a survey to map uncharted deep sea terrain at the bottom of the Indian Ocean in search of the plane.
A survey ship from Dutch engineering company Fugro, carrying 40 crew and technicians, began mapping out an area larger than the Netherlands, some 1,600 kilometres off the West Australian coast.
The search for the lost plane is being coordinated by the ATSB, and is expected to cost $60 million in the first year.
Fugro usually conducts surveys of ocean floors for oil and telecommunications companies.
Strategy director Rob Luijnenburg says this search area is in a particularly rough location.
"The area has mountains, ridges, valleys, and you can't see a lot down there unless you make it visible with technology," he said.
"For the first phase you need a good map, once you have that you can plan the next phase."
It will take roughly three months for the Fugro Equator survey ship, which is being assisted by a Chinese naval vessel, to map the topography of the ocean floor.
Once an accurate map has been constructed with the aid of computers on board the ship, searchers can begin more detailed and slower surveys in a bid to find the plane itself, using unmanned robots and submarines to search the ocean floor.
The area being mapped is largely uncharted. Mr Luijnenburg said the area's remoteness and depth at 6,000 metres placed it beyond the reach of the oil industry, which is still pushing down to depths approaching 3,000 metres.
With a long maritime history and seafaring expertise, Dutch companies are leaders in the field of complex, large-scale undersea search and salvage operations.
Wrecks on which Dutch companies have worked include the raising of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, which sank in the depths of the Barents Sea in 2000 with the loss of all on board.
More recently, Dutch firms were contracted to help salvage the Costa Concordia cruise liner, which sank off the coast of Italy in 2012.
Fugro's ship will use an echo sounder for the topographic mapping stage to build up a relatively low-resolution picture of the entire area as quickly as possible. Its crew will stay at sea for a month at a time.
"It's extremely unlikely that we will be able to pick up something the size of an aircraft and make it out to be that at this stage," Mr Luijnenburg said.
The 7th arc
The latest information and analysis confirms that MH370 will be found in close proximity to the arc set out in the map and labelled as the 7th arc. At the time MH370 reached this arc, the aircraft is considered to have exhausted its fuel and to have been descending. As a result, the aircraft is unlikely to be more than 20 NM (38 km) to the west or 30 NM (55 km) to the east of the arc.
Based on all the independent analysis of satellite communications and aircraft performance, the total extent of the 7th arc reaches from latitude 20 degrees S to 39 degrees S.
Refinement of the analysis in the coming weeks will reduce the underwater Search Area along this arc to a prioritised 17,500 sq. NM (60,000 sq. km). The prioritised length of the Search Area along the arc is expected to be 350 NM (650 km).
More information about the Search Area will be made available as soon as it is verified.
above from ATSB
best estimate from
Duncan Steel and other experts:
The new search zone comes as Dutch engineers begin a survey to map uncharted deep sea terrain at the bottom of the Indian Ocean in search of the plane.
A survey ship from Dutch engineering company Fugro, carrying 40 crew and technicians, began mapping out an area larger than the Netherlands, some 1,600 kilometres off the West Australian coast.
The search for the lost plane is being coordinated by the ATSB, and is expected to cost $60 million in the first year.
Fugro usually conducts surveys of ocean floors for oil and telecommunications companies.
Strategy director Rob Luijnenburg says this search area is in a particularly rough location.
"The area has mountains, ridges, valleys, and you can't see a lot down there unless you make it visible with technology," he said.
"For the first phase you need a good map, once you have that you can plan the next phase."
It will take roughly three months for the Fugro Equator survey ship, which is being assisted by a Chinese naval vessel, to map the topography of the ocean floor.
Once an accurate map has been constructed with the aid of computers on board the ship, searchers can begin more detailed and slower surveys in a bid to find the plane itself, using unmanned robots and submarines to search the ocean floor.
Area to be mapped is 6,000 metres deep
Investigators say what little evidence they have to work with, including the loss of communications, suggests the Boeing 777 was deliberately diverted thousands of kilometres from its scheduled route.The area being mapped is largely uncharted. Mr Luijnenburg said the area's remoteness and depth at 6,000 metres placed it beyond the reach of the oil industry, which is still pushing down to depths approaching 3,000 metres.
With a long maritime history and seafaring expertise, Dutch companies are leaders in the field of complex, large-scale undersea search and salvage operations.
Wrecks on which Dutch companies have worked include the raising of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, which sank in the depths of the Barents Sea in 2000 with the loss of all on board.
More recently, Dutch firms were contracted to help salvage the Costa Concordia cruise liner, which sank off the coast of Italy in 2012.
Fugro's ship will use an echo sounder for the topographic mapping stage to build up a relatively low-resolution picture of the entire area as quickly as possible. Its crew will stay at sea for a month at a time.
"It's extremely unlikely that we will be able to pick up something the size of an aircraft and make it out to be that at this stage," Mr Luijnenburg said.
The 7th arc
The latest information and analysis confirms that MH370 will be found in close proximity to the arc set out in the map and labelled as the 7th arc. At the time MH370 reached this arc, the aircraft is considered to have exhausted its fuel and to have been descending. As a result, the aircraft is unlikely to be more than 20 NM (38 km) to the west or 30 NM (55 km) to the east of the arc.
Based on all the independent analysis of satellite communications and aircraft performance, the total extent of the 7th arc reaches from latitude 20 degrees S to 39 degrees S.
Refinement of the analysis in the coming weeks will reduce the underwater Search Area along this arc to a prioritised 17,500 sq. NM (60,000 sq. km). The prioritised length of the Search Area along the arc is expected to be 350 NM (650 km).
More information about the Search Area will be made available as soon as it is verified.
above from ATSB
best estimate from
Duncan Steel and other experts:
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