Over the past 50 years, the hydrographic community has progressed from the humble leadline for single spot depths to sophisticated multibeam sounding systems capable of charting the entire seafloor. Canada now extensively uses this technology in its surveying operations. There are many benefits to using the latest swath systems, especially in the coastal margins and inland waters where, for instance, channel monitoring and dredging raise safety, economic and environmental issues. Utilizing multibeam systems reduces survey time, extends bottom coverage and contributes to conserving survey resources. Multibeam systems are expensive and the complexity of the system often requires high maintenance. In addition the software used for acquiring, processing and displaying the collected information is still maturing. Data cleaning algorithms to accommodate data collection rates that at times exceed 3000 data points per second are required. Canada has been dealing with those aspects of swath sounding for a decade now. Continuous research and development in the subject gave berth to new technologies and new acquisition and processing techniques. This paper summarizes the Canadian experiences in swath sounding and discusses its future developments and direction within the Canadian Hydrographic Service
