A review of oceanographic applications of water column data from multibeam echosounders

•We review emerging applications of multibeam echo sounder water column data.•Applications include fisheries, marine mammal, geological and oceanographic studies.•Methods and conclusions of studies using multibeam water column data are summarized.•Advantages and challenges of using water column multibeam data are discussed.

Multibeam echosounder systems (MBES) have long provided bathymetric data with high temporal and spatial resolution. In the last couple of decades, MBES observations of scattering in the water column have been finding increasing use in oceanographic studies. Here we review the wealth of studies using water column multibeam data to address questions in fisheries, marine mammal and zooplankton research as well as seeps and hydrothermal vents. We also summarize some of the tantalizing new oceanographic applications of water column MBES, such as kelp ecosystems, near surface bubbles, suspended sediment, mixing and internal waves, as well as the proper determination of the extent of shipwreck above the sea floor. We highlight the many advantages of using water column MBES and discuss the challenges.

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