# Conclusions

Multi-sensor hydrography enables a wide array of techniques which involve collecting surveys simultaneously using a selection of sensors that produce different but comparable bathymetric data sets. MBARI has produced an ROV payload to match the demands of scientists. This multi-sensor platform produces distinct but correlated datasets at high enough resolution to study detailed processes within a 100-m by 100-m observed area over a 12-hr mission. 

By conducting fine scale surveys in a repeatable and controlled manner, we have proven that excellent topographic maps can be generated by this platform using either sonar, lidar, or photogrammetry. These data sets vary in resolution, but comparison between the data are possible, leading to significant scientific observations. The examples of repeat mapping can certainly be applied to more fields than the geomorphological one presented in Section \ref{repeat-mapping}. The benthic clam community shown in Figure \ref{fig:clams} has in fact been mapped over several years, and change in the clam community is evident. The quantitative measurements obtained from the lidar and multibeam sonar provide an effective way to measure deposition rates. Small change repeat measurements would also have applications in the commercial sector as well, most notably pipeline surveys conducted by the oil and gas industry.

The technique of soft matter detection enabled by comparing lidar and sonar data validates the design choice to place multiple bathymetric sensors next to each other on this platform. The underlying physics of those measurements can lead to a better understanding of the environment. The ability to isolate matter with similar acoustic impedance to seawater has applications past the example of benthic ecology presented in Section \ref{benthic-organism-detection}. Possible studies of soft animal bio-fouling could be possible. Overall, these examples all validate that study over these scales can produce quantitative measures of change and state for systems difficult to characterize.