- This article is about the sensor technology. You may be looking for Lieutenant Sonar, a Starfleet Intelligence analyst.
Sonar, short for "sound navigation and ranging", was a particular type of sensor technology employed to track the movement of objects through water using the medium of sound. On Earth it was first developed technologically in the early 20th century. Over time, the term would be used to describe similar technologies that could be deployed even in space. (NF novel: Missing in Action)
Echolocation was a more generic term to describe locating objects with sound as well as the evolved sensing ability of some animal life, including bats and dolphins.
History and specifics[]
The inhabitants of Cytrops 469 communicated with a language based on telepathy and sonar. (TOS novel: The Fearful Summons)
Members of the Xindi-Aquatic species used sonar when communicating underwater using the past tense. (ENT episode: "The Council")
Khan Noonien Singh's Typhoon-class flagship submarine SGK Kaur navigated with sonar. Its passive systems could detect mines. On 7 February 1994, an Akula-class submarine detected Kaur with its active sonar systems. (TOS - The Eugenics Wars novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2)
The 21st century CSS Delphinus was equipped with sonar. It was employed in 2045 to seek evidence of a UFO that crashed the Pacific Ocean. (TOS novel: Strangers from the Sky)
In the year 2266, Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott of the starship USS Enterprise modified his communicator to function as a sonar scanner on Seggor, as he'd beamed down without authorization or a tricorder. He used it to locate a surface entrance to a hidden underground Klingon outpost. (TOS comic: "The Klingon Ultimatum")
After the Enterprise passed through a rough cosmic storm, Captain James T. Kirk requested a sonar scan of the ship's main bulkheads and hull to reveal any structural damage. (TOS comic: "Furlough to Fury")
In 2267, an ice dam formed in the aftermath of spring thaw on Nisus that threatened a flood on the science colony there if it burst. When Scott heard about it, he immediately considered various engineering solutions, but his first thought was to look at sonar scans of the dam. (TOS novel: The IDIC Epidemic)
In 2270, deep-sea submersibles on Okeanos were equipped with sonar and radar that could provide detailed images of their ocean floor. (TOS novel: From the Depths)
In 2273, with traditional sensor scans of V'Ger uselessly being reflected back, the Enterprise employed photic-sonar scanning while navigating within the massive vessel. (TOS movie: The Motion Picture)
Late 23rd century sea skimmers on Earth were outfitted with sonar scanning equipment. (FASA RPG module: The Hottest Blood of All)
The amphishuttle Nautilus was equipped with sonar. In 2310, while traveling through rough seas, sediment obscured its viewscreens, requiring navigation via sensors and sonar. (TOS - Strange New Worlds II short story: "The Hero of My Own Life")
In 2367, Ensign Ro Laren spotted a tsunami approaching New Reykjavik with sonar. (TNG novel: War Drums)
The AI robot Senyx had sonar detectors that could be used if visual sensors were blocked. (TNG - Cold Equations novel: The Body Electric)
Sonar locators could be used to simplify sports such as fishing. In 2375, Jean-Luc Picard told Data about his father Maurice Picard deriding such technology when they fished together at a lake near their home in La Barre, France. (TNG novel: I, Q)
In 2379, with sensors offline, the USS Excalibur-A's deflector dish was modified by Morgan Primus to replicate a sonar technology. It helped the crew determine their whereabouts in a different galaxy. (NF novel: Missing in Action)
In 2381, USS Titan's shuttle Gillespie was equipped with sonar. That year, it was used for navigating on Droplet as well as to track Aili Lavena's travels in the ocean. (TTN novel: Over a Torrent Sea)
Some late 24th century tricorders had an echolocation setting. In 2384, Jasminder Choudhury used a civilian tricorder to scan through a sensor scattering field. (TNG - Cold Equations novel: The Persistence of Memory) Later that year, Geordi La Forge used ultrasonic echolocation to scan through dense steam on Orion. (TNG - Cold Equations novel: Silent Weapons)
In fiction[]
In the 2370s holonovel Tigers of the Deep, sonar expert Wendy Staton installed new gear aboard the United States Navy submarine USS Bengal in order to search for missing ships in Earth's Bermuda Triangle region in the 1950s decade. (Last Unicorn RPG - Holodeck Adventures module: Tigers of the Deep)
- See also: echolocation
Appendices[]
References[]
- TOS comic: "The Klingon Ultimatum"
- TOS comic: "Furlough to Fury"
- TOS movie: The Motion Picture
- TOS novel: Strangers from the Sky
- FASA RPG module: The Hottest Blood of All
- TOS novel: The IDIC Epidemic
- TNG novel: War Drums
- TOS novel: From the Depths
- TOS novel: The Fearful Summons
- TOS - Strange New Worlds II short story: "The Hero of My Own Life"
- Last Unicorn Games module: Holodeck Adventures
- TNG novel: I, Q
- TOS - The Eugenics Wars novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2
- ENT episode: "The Council"
- NF novel: Missing in Action
- TTN novel: Over a Torrent Sea
- TNG - Cold Equations novel: The Persistence of Memory (as echolocation)
- TNG - Cold Equations novel: Silent Weapons (as echolocation)
- TNG - Cold Equations novel: The Body Electric (as echolocation)
External links[]
- Sonar article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Sonar article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.